Vinyl Chloride Production

Capstone Design Project

Spring 2003

Chemical Engineering -University of Oklahoma

Jeremy Dry
Bryce Lawson
Phuong Le
Israel Osisanya
Deepa Patel
Anecia Shelton
 Vinyl Chloride Production Plant
Table of Contents

Section 1: Introduction ............................................................................................5

Section 2: Available Processes ................................................................................5

2.1 Vinyl Chloride from Acetylene ...............................................................5
2.2 Vinyl Chloride from Ethane.....................................................................6
2.3 Vinyl Chloride from Ethylene .................................................................6

Section 3: Process Design ........................................................................................7

3.1 Thermodynamics......................................................................................7
3.2 Balanced Process Overview ....................................................................7
3.3 Balance Process Outline ..........................................................................7
3.4 Direct Chlorination Reactor Design.........................................................8
3.5 Direct Chlorination Process Simulation...................................................9
3.6 Direct Chlorination Control and Instrumentation ....................................10
3.7 Oxychlorination Reactor Design..............................................................10
3.8 Air Based or Pure Oxygen Based Oxychlorination Process....................12
3.9 Air Based and Pure Oxygen Based Oxychlorination Simulations...........12
3.10 Oxychlorination Process Simulation......................................................12
3.11 Oxychlorination Control and Instrumentation .......................................13
3.12 Ethylene Dichloride Purification Simulation.........................................13
3.13 Ethylene Dichloride Purification Control and Instrumentation .............14
3.14 EDC Cracking and Quench Design .......................................................14
3.15 EDC Cracking and Quench Control and Instrumentation .....................15
3.16 Vinyl Chloride Purification....................................................................16
3.17 VCM Purification Control and Instrumentation ....................................16
3.18 Heat Integration Design .........................................................................17

Section 4: Waste Treatment....................................................................................19

4.1 Vapor and Liquid By-Product Treatment ................................................19
4.2 Process Water Treatment .........................................................................21

Section 5: HAZOP....................................................................................................22

Section 6: Plant Location.........................................................................................23

Section 7: Risk Analysis and Probability..............................................................25

7.1 Forecasting of Prices................................................................................25
7.2 Brief Economic Analysis .........................................................................26
7.3 Risk Analysis and Probability..................................................................27
7.4 Plant Capacity Selection ..........................................................................29

Section 8: Economic Analysis .................................................................................29

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 8.1 Equipment Cost........................................................................................29
8.2 Waste Treatment Units ............................................................................31
8.3 Total Capital Investment..........................................................................33
8.4 Total Product Cost ...................................................................................33
8.5 Direct Product Cost..................................................................................33
8.6 Fixed Cost ................................................................................................35
8.7 Overhead Cost..........................................................................................35
8.8 General Expenses.....................................................................................35
8.9 Total Net Profit ........................................................................................35

Section 9: The Environmental Impact Effect on Profit........................................36

References.................................................................................................................40

Appendix A ...............................................................................................................44

Appendix B ...............................................................................................................46

Appendix C ...............................................................................................................51

Appendix D ...............................................................................................................58

Appendix E ...............................................................................................................60

Appendix F ...............................................................................................................61

Appendix G...............................................................................................................65

Appendix H...............................................................................................................71

Appendix I ................................................................................................................80

Appendix J................................................................................................................81

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 Executive Summary
This project presents the design of a vinyl chloride plant with a capacity of 6.4 billion
pounds per year located in Taft, LA. The capacity of the plant is based on comparing
several different capacities’ return on investment and net present worth. Applying
different trends to the historical demand data allowed for the prediction of the capacities.
The vinyl chloride product is 99.8 mol% pure, this composition allows for polymer
feedstock applications. The total capital investment for the plant is $65.1 million. The
plant produces a total net profit of $27.5 million per year. Extensive Monte Carlo
simulations show that a 6.4 billion pound capacity has a 68% chance of having a positive
net present worth. A major focus of the design is to maximize safety and minimize
environmental impact while maintaining profitability. The VCM plant produces a
number of by-products resulting in eight waste streams. The Clean Air and Clean Water
Acts, enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency, regulate the procedure by which
we dispose of the different waste streams. An integrated waste treatment system utilizing
incineration, absorption, caustic scrubbing and activated carbon adsorption is developed
in order to avoid releasing any hazardous waste into the environment. The total capital
investment of the waste treatment system is $667,000. The increase in environmental
awareness increases the total equipment cost from $14.5 million to $15.28 million, and
decreases the total net profit per year to $26.2 million.

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Section 1: Introduction

Chlorinating hydrocarbons is the basic idea behind the production of vinyl chloride
monomer (VCM). Chlorinated hydrocarbons (CHCs) are much more resilient to
biodegradation, unlike simple hydrocarbons. This is due mainly to the inherent strength
of the C-Cl bond. Consequently, man-made CHCs are beginning to accumulate in the
environment. However, production of VCM is essential to the production of polyvinyl
chloride (PVC). Construction materials made of PVC are light, low-maintenance, and
long lasting. PVC products are highly resistant to weathering, petroleum products, and
UV radiation. PVC, a flame resistant material, has been examined extensively in regards
to fire prevention. There are so many positive aspects of using PVC that it is imperative
that it be produced. Many CHCs are created during the production of PVC; this is a
growing concern. Therefore, VCM needs to be produced in a way that will minimize or
totally eliminate the release of CHCs into the environment.

The goal of this project is to design an environmentally friendly, safe, and economically
profitable vinyl chloride production plant. Environmental friendliness requires that the
design go beyond the minimum compliance regulations while maintaining plant
profitability. Plant safety includes addressing deviations from normal operation that may
have adverse effects on employees or the surrounding community. The project is divided
into five interrelated parts; process design, market analysis, environmental awareness,
plant safety, and plant economics. The market analysis section includes a method for
determining the optimal location of the plant as well as an investigation of the future
demand for vinyl chloride. The process design section includes the thermodynamic
system, kinetic data, balanced process for the production of VCM, process simulations,
and heat integration of the heat exchangers. The environmental awareness section
includes an evaluation of all the waste streams, along with an evaluation of several waste
treatment methods in addition to justification for the waste treatment system that was
selected. The plant safety section includes a detailed hazardous operations study of the
P&ID design of the VCM plant. The last section, plant economics, includes a detailed
economic analysis of the VCM plant, which quantifies the total capital investment, net
present worth, and other major economical variables.

Section 2: Available Processes

Vinyl chloride was first produced using the process of dehydrating ethylene dichloride
(EDC) with alcoholic caustic potash. However, the first effective industrial process was
based on the hydrochlorination of acetylene. Until the late 1940s, this process was used
almost exclusively (21).

The normal method of producing acetylene was from calcium carbide. “The high-energy
requirement for carbide production was a serious drawback to the continuing mass
production of vinyl chloride by this method” (21). However, as ethylene became more
plentiful in the early 50’s, commercial processes were developed to produce vinyl
chloride from chlorine and ethylene via EDC, namely, the balanced ethylene route.
Today the balanced ethylene is responsible for well over 90% of the world’s vinyl

5
chloride production. “This process has been refined and the scale of operation has
greatly increased, but no fundamentally new processes have achieved commercial
viability” (21). Although this is true, it is still necessary to examine the alternative
processes and determine if they can still be utilized.

All current production plants for vinyl chloride depend on the use of a C2 hydrocarbon
feedstocks, specifically, acetylene, ethylene, or ethane. Commercial operations using
these compounds are confined to gas-phase processes. “Manufacture from acetylene is a
relatively simple single-stage process, but the cost of acetylene is high” (21). Ethane is
by far the least expensive C2 hydrocarbon, but it cannot be converted to vinyl chloride
with high selectivity (21).

2.1 Vinyl Chloride from Acetylene

The process that produces vinyl chloride from acetylene employs the use of a catalyst.
Most of the time the catalyst used is mercuric chloride deposited on active carbon. In this
process the feed gases are purified, dried, and mixed at the entrance to the tubular fixed
bed reactors, which are packed with mercuric chloride on active carbon pellets as
catalysts. Usually, a slight excess of HCl is used over stoichiometry. “About 99%
conversion of acetylene and 98% conversion of HCl are achieved. The selectivity to
vinyl chloride is good – more than 98% -- and the only significant side reaction is the
further addition of HCl to vinyl chloride to form 1,1-dichlorethane” (21).

The major issue with this process is that fact that the catalyst used, mercuric chloride, is a
very volatile compound. It is so volatile that much of the development work on this
process has been devoted to this problem (21). Consequently, the acetylene route is
currently of little commercial importance.

2.2 Vinyl Chloride from Ethane

Many attempts have been made to develop a process that will use ethane to directly
produce vinyl chloride. This is due to relative inexpensiveness of ethane. The major
problem associated with the use of ethane is its molecular symmetry. In particular, the
addition of chlorine to ethane gives rise to a wide product spectrum (21). “The most
promising routes appear to be those based on high temperature oxychlorination that use
special catalysts to achieve a worthwhile selectivity to vinyl chloride and useful major
by-products such as ethylene, ethyl chloride, and EDC” (21). The ethylene may be
chlorinated to EDC and recycled along with the ethyl chloride. Although possible, this
process has not progressed beyond the conceptual stage. This is due to the fact that the
oxychlorination reactor design presents a severe challenge in terms of materials of
construction because the reaction temperature may go up to 500oC (21). At this
temperature chlorine becomes very aggressive to most construction materials.

2.3 Vinyl Chloride from Ethylene

Ethylene can be converted to vinyl chloride in a single stage, i.e., without isolating the
intermediate ethylene dichloride by either chlorination or oxychlorination routes, as is the
case with the balanced ethylene route. Direct chlorination routes require a high
temperature and a large excess of ethylene to minimize soot formation (21). The patent

6
literature recommends using inert fluid beds for heat transfer and diluting gases in the
feeds. Substantial amounts of vinyl chloride are formed when the oxychlorination reactor
is operated above 350oC.

The common problems with the direct routes of production are poor selectivities to vinyl
chloride and substantial production of chlorinated by-products, many of which have no
direct commercial utility (21). “This has substantially hindered the industrial application
of direct-conversion processes” (21).

Section 3: Process Design

3.1 Thermodynamics
A large number of chemical species are present in the vinyl chloride plant. Generally
most of the compounds are non-ideal and somewhat polar. The modified Suave-Redlich
Kwong (SRK) equation of state was used to simulate the vinyl chloride plant. This
equation of state handles polar-nonpolar systems well (17). It is recommended for
hydrocarbon and water mixtures, as is the case in the production of vinyl chloride. The
modified SRK equation of state does not accurately predict liquid densities; therefore,
liquid density estimations were made using Rackett correlation (17). This correlation
was selected because of its accurate prediction of hydrocarbon liquid densities (17).

3.2 Balanced Process Overview

The process chosen for vinyl chloride production is a combination of two processes,
direct chlorination and oxychlorination. This process is referred to as the balanced
process. Direct chlorination by itself is a process that operates at lower temperatures and
produces fewer by-products when compared to oxychlorination. Oxychlorination is used
in vinyl chloride production because it consumes the hydrochloric acid (HCl), a major
by-product of vinyl chloride production. Currently, nearly 95% of the world’s supply is
produced using the balanced process. The main reactions in this process are:

Direct chlorination CH2CH2 + Cl2 → ClCH2CH2Cl Eqn. (1)

Oxychlorination CH2CH2 + 2 HCl + ½ O2 → ClCH2CH2Cl + H2O Eqn. (2)
EDC pyrolysis 2 ClCH2CH2Cl → 2 CH2CHCl + 2 HCl Eqn. (3)
Overall reaction 2 CH2CH2 + Cl2 + ½ O2 → 2 CH2CHCl + H2O Eqn. (4)

3.3 Balance Process Outline

The five main processes used in the production of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) are:
(1) direct chlorination of ethylene to form EDC, (2) oxychlorination of ethylene to form
from recycled HCl and oxygen, (3) purification of EDC, (4) thermal cracking of EDC to
form VCM and HCl, and (5) the purification of VCM. These processes are shown in
Figure 1.

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 HCl recycle

Air or O2
Light ends
Oxy-
chlorination

Ethylene EDC
EDC EDC VCM
purification pyrolysis purification VCM

EDC recycle
Direct
Cl2 chlorination
Heavy ends
Figure 1: Vinyl Chloride Plant PFD

3.4 Direct Chlorination Reactor Design

Ethylene and chlorine combine in a homogeneous catalytic reaction to form EDC.
Normally, the reaction rate is controlled by mass transfer, with absorption of ethylene as
the limiting factor (9). Due to high selectivity, ferric chloride is the common catalyst of
choice for chlorination of ethylene. The catalytic reaction utilizes an electrophilic
addition mechanism. The catalyst polarizes chlorine (Eqn. 5) and then the polarized
chlorine molecule acts as an electrophilic reagent to add Cl- to the double bond of
ethylene (Eqn. 6).

FeCl3 + Cl2 ↔ FeCl4-Cl+ Eqn. (5)

FeCl4-Cl+ + CH2CH2 → FeCl3 + ClCH2CH2Cl Eqn. (6)

The direct chlorination reaction was modeled using kinetics from Wachi and Morikawa
(22). This kinetic data provided rate constants that are used to determine reaction rates.
A plug flow reactor molar continuity equation (Eqn. 7) was numerically integrated to
determine consumption of reactants and production of products. A slight excess of
ethylene is fed to the column to maximize conversion of chlorine. Table 1 presents the
conversion and selectivity parameters predicted by the reactor modeling. These results
compare well to values obtain from Laskhmanan (11).
dFk
= νrAt Eqn. (7)
dz
where: Fk is molar flow rate, z is tube length, ν is stoichiometric
coefficient, r is rate of reaction, and At is tube area.

Table 1: Direct Chlorination Reactor Modeling Results

Modeling Results Literature Values
Conversion of ethylene 99.93% 99.94%
Selectivity to EDC 99.8% 99.4%

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Kirk-Othmer and Laskhmanan both state that 1,1,2-trichloroethane is the main by-
product of direct chlorination (9,11). Homolytic dissociation of chlorine forms this by-
product. Oxygen inhibits the free radical reactions that produce 1,1,2-trichloroethane.
Because of this, addition of pure oxygen to the chlorine in a ratio of 0.5% of the chlorine
feed is commonly performed to reduce by-product formation. Wachi and Morikawa
suggest that HCl is a by products as well, but only in small amounts (22). See Table 2 for
complete direct chlorination product formation developed from the reactor model.
Table 2: Direct Chlorination Reactor Effluent Flow Rates (lb-mol/hr)
EDC 2682
Trichloroethane 5
HCl 0.5
Ethylene 18
Chlorine 8

The direct chlorination reaction is exothermic (∆H = -180kJ/mol), thus requiring heat
removal for temperature control (9). Early reactor design had the operating temperature
of the reactor at 50-60 0C. It is now desired to recover the heat of reaction to lower plant
energy cost. A widely used method involves operating the reactor at the boiling point of
EDC, allowing the pure vapor product to vaporize, and then either recovering heat from
the condensing vapor, or replacing one or more EDC fractionation column reboilers with
the reactor itself (9). Our reactor design approach is to operate the reactor at higher
pressures to raise the boiling point of EDC. This causes more efficient heat transfer to
occur, utilizing the higher reactor temperatures while the product remains in the liquid
phase. The reactor material type depends on the temperature and product formation.
Temperature control is achieved by cooling water flowing on the shell side of the PFTR;
therefore, carbon steel is used to fabricate the shell of the reactor. Stainless steel tubes
are required because of the corrosive HCl produced by the reaction. Table 3 presents a
complete breakdown of direct chlorination reactor parameters.

Table 3: Direct Chlorination Reactor Parameters

Reactor Temperature (oC) 120
Reactor Pressure (psig) 15
Reactor Volume (ft3) 90
Tube Diameter (in) 2
Tube Length (ft) 115
Residence Time (hr) 0.018

3.5 Direct Chlorination Process Simulation

The direct chlorination reactor modeling results are transferred to Pro II for a process
simulation. The liquid reactor effluent is sent to a caustic scrubber to remove aqueous
waste, which contain HCl and chlorine. The EDC product from the caustic scrubber is
now ready for EDC purification.

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3.6 Direct Chlorination Control and Instrumentation
Reactant flow to the direct chlorination reactor is controlled by control valves that receive
their corresponding signal from the ethylene flow transmitter. This control scheme
ensures the proper ratio of reactant flow rates into the reactor. The direct chlorination
reactor temperature is controlled by the flow rate of the cooling fluid. Temperature
transmitters on the tube side of the reactor ensure proper temperature control. The
caustic scrubber is controlled by ratio control that is used to adjust NaOH flow based on
product pH and feed flow rate. See Figure 2 for the direct chlorination P&ID. Appendix
A contains corresponding stream and equipment tag numbers and descriptions.

Figure 2: Direct Chlorination PFD

3.7 Oxychlorination Reactor Design

The reaction is modeled by using kinetic data obtained from a series of articles by Sai
Prasad (2001), and Gel’Perin (1979, 1983, 1984). Sai Prasad presents seven reactions
that make up the oxychlorination reaction (19). Gel’Perin provides more extensive by
product formation kinetic data for the reaction (5,6,7). Table 4 presents the
oxychlorination reactions and their stoichiometric equations.

Table 4: Oxychlorination Reactions

Set Reaction Stoichiometry
R-1 DCE formation C2H4 + 2CuCl2→ C2H4Cl2 + 2CuCl
R-2 TCE formation C2H4 + 3CuCl2→ C2H4Cl3 + 3CuCl +0.5H2
R-3 C2H4 combustion C2H4 + 3O2→ 2CO2 + 2H2O
R-4 CuCl oxidation 2CuCl + 0.5O2→ CuO-CuCl2→ CuO + CuCl2
R-5 CuCl2 regeneration CuO + 2HCl → CuCl2 + H2O

Along with these five main oxychlorination reactions, nine other by-product formation
reactions were modeled. Equation 7 was numerical integrated to determined reactant
consumption and product formation. Figure 3 shows the reactant consumption and

10
product generation versus reactor tube length. These values are determined by the reactor
model. Table 5 presents the numerical results from the oxychlorination reactor model.

17500

15000
Flow Rate (lb-mol/hr)

12500

10000

7500

5000

2500

0
0 100 200 300 400
Tube Length (m)

Ethylene O2 EDC HCl

Figure 3: Oxychlorination Reactor

Table 5: Oxychlorination Reactor Effluent Flow Rates (lb-mol/hr)

EDC 1341 Cloral 0.25
Water 1341 CCl4 1.25
TEC 1.26 Methyl Chloride 0.12
CO2 140 Chloroform 0.11
Ethylene 5.5 Chloroethane 0.11
Oxygen 2.76 Chloroprene 0.10
HCl 0.015 Vinyl Acetylene 0.09
Acetylene 0.13 Dichloromethane 0.10

The oxychlorination reactor is a PFTR with the cupric chloride catalyst packed in the
tubes while cooling water flows on the shell side for temperature control. Some
oxychlorination processes utilize a fluidized bed reactor, but no heat recovery is possible
with these reactors. See Appendix B-4 for a description of oxychlorination fluidized bed
reactors. Oxychlorination is highly exothermic (∆H = -239 kJ/mol). Ethylene
oxychlorination is normally conducted at temperatures of 225-325 oC and at pressures of
1-15 atmospheres (McPherson, 1979). Operating the reactor at higher temperatures allow
for heat recovery which result in plant energy savings. Plant wide heat integration is

11
discussed in section 3.18. Table 6 presents the reactor parameters determine for the
reactor model results. An increase in by-product formation is observed with increasing
reactor temperature. This is due to an increase in oxidation of ethylene to carbon oxides
and increased cracking of EDC. Kinetic data obtained from Gel’Peri, determine the
chloro-hydrocarbon byproducts rate increased from 0.012 to 0.178 with a temperature
increase of 350 to 400 oC (5). High temperature (>350 oC) can also cause catalyst
deactivation from sublimation of CuCl2.

Table 6: Oxychlorination Reactor Parameters

Reactor Temperature (oC) 305
Reactor Pressure (psig) 58
3
Reactor Volume (ft ) 461
Tube Diameter (in) 2
Tube Length (ft) 1320
Residence Time (hr) 0.05

3.8 Air Based or Pure Oxygen Based Oxychlorination Process

The oxychlorination process requires air or pure oxygen as a reactant. Many older
designs utilize air as a reactant due to the low cost and availability. Recent
oxychlorination process design selected oxygen over air for several reasons. The main
advantage is the reduction in nitrous oxide (NOx) formation as well as other by-products
composed of nitrogen. In a typical oxychlorination process a small amount of reactor off
gas is purged from the reactor to prevent accumulation of impurities, such as, carbon
oxides, nitrogen, argon, and un-reacted hydrocarbons. These impurities can form in the
oxychlorination reactor or enter the process as impurities in the feed. Utilizing pure
oxygen in the oxychlorination process accounts for a substantial decrease in reactor off
gas. A major reduction of vent gases can be accomplished using the oxygen based
oxychlorination process. This greatly reduces the treatment cost for the vent gas. These
many advantages off set the cost of utilizing pure oxygen; therefore, many air based
oxychlorination process have been converted to the oxygen.

3.9 Air Based and Pure Oxygen Based Oxychlorination Simulations

Pro II simulations were performed for both air based and pure oxygen based
oxychlorination. The air based simulation processes 17000 lb-mol/hr of nitrogen which
passes through the reactor, caustic scrubber, and flash vessels it is then vented to the
atmosphere. The addition of this nitrogen results in a waste treatment problem. The
nitrogen will form NOx in the oxychlorination reactor which produced a vent stream that
is subject to incineration; the addition of nitrogen in this vent stream will dramatic
increase the formation of nitrous oxides. For this reason air based oxychlorination will
not be used. Oxygen based provides a much more environmentally friendly design.
Waste treatment will be discussed in more detail in section 4.

3.10 Oxychlorination Process Simulation

The oxychlorination reactor modeling results are transfered to Pro II for the process
simulation. The liquid reactor effluent is processed by a caustic scrubber to remove
aqueous waste that includes HCl. The EDC product is then cooled by a heat exchanger

12
and flashed to remove any oxygen and light impurities present in the effluent. The EDC
product from the flash is now ready for EDC purification. See Figure 3 for the
oxychlorination process flow diagram.

3.11 Oxychlorination Control and Instrumentation

Reactant flow to the oxychlorination reactor is controlled by control valves that receive
their corresponding signal from the ethylene flow transmitter. This control scheme
ensures the proper ratio of reactant flow rates into the reactor. The direct chlorination
reactor is controlled by the flow rate of the cooling fluid. Temperature transmitters on
the tube side of the reactor ensure proper temperature control. The caustic scrubber is
controlled by ratio control that is used to adjust NaOH flow based on product pH and
feed flow rate. Heat exchanger E-104 is controlled by a temperature control on the
process stream controlling cooling fluid flow rate. See Figure 4 for the oxychlorination
P&ID. Appendix A contains corresponding stream and equipment tag numbers and
descriptions.

Figure 4: Oxychlorination Process PFD

3.12 Ethylene Dichloride Purification Simulation

Ethylene dichloride from direct chlorination, oxychlorination, and the recycle stream
from the cracking step must be purified before pyrolysis. The EDC must be purified to
99.5 wt%. Initially, the combined EDC is washed with water in a wash tower. This is
done to remove a majority of the water produced by the oxychlorination reaction. Also,
the FeCl3 catalyst can be removed by washing with water, in conjunction with EDC from
the oxychlorination process (9). Ferric chloride is highly soluble in water; therefore,
separation is not a problem. The FeCl3 can then be removed by adsorption on activated
carbon (13). Process water treatment is discussed in Section 4.2. The EDC is then
purified by two distillation columns. The first column, referred to as the lights column,
removes water and low boiling point impurities. The bottoms from the lights column,
which have lower volatility, are combined with the pyrolysis feed purge; these two
streams combine to form the feed of the heavies column. The second feed is a purge
stream from the quench section of the plant. The pure EDC composition is 99.3%, and is
the overhead product of the heavies column. The lights column consists of 17 theoretical
trays, operates with a reflux ratio equal to three, and operates at a top tray pressure of 185
psig with a 22 psig pressure drop. The heavies column consists of 30 theoretical trays,

13
operates with a reflux ratio of one, and operates at a top tray pressure of 80 psig and has a
15 psig pressure drop.

3.13 Ethylene Dichloride Purification Control and Instrumentation

The lights column is controlled by an overhead and bottoms control loop. The bottoms
control loop utilizes a low select switch control steam flow rate. A differential pressure
controller and a composition controller each call for a certain steam flow rate. The
smallest flowrate is selected by the low select switch. The differential pressure controller
has a set point equal to the maximum tray pressure drop and the composition controller’s
set point is the desired composition of the bottoms. The overhead control loop utilizes a
level controller on the reflux drum to control the reflux ratio. The heavies column is
controlled by an overhead and bottoms control loop. The bottoms temperature is
controlled by the steam flow rate to the reboiler. In the overhead control loop the level
control of the reflux drum is established by the distillate flow rate, reflux ratio is adjusted
by the composition controller in order to control distillate composition. See Figure 5 for
the oxychlorination P&ID. Appendix A contains corresponding stream and equipment
tag numbers and descriptions.

Figure 5: EDC Purification Section

3.14 EDC Cracking and Quench Design

Pyrolysis (thermal cracking) of EDC produces vinyl chloride. Pyrolysis of EDC is an
endothermic reaction (∆H = 71 kJ/mol) that is carried out in a furnace. The furnace
consists of four main sections: a radiation section, a convection section, a shock section,
and a stack. The radiation section, also referred to as the firebox, contains the tubes,
burners, and tube sheets. The heat required for endothermic reaction is supplied by
combustion of fuel from the firebox burners. The fire box operates at 500 oC. The
convection and shock sections utilize combustion gases to preheat the feed before
entering the firebox. The combustion gases are then released to the atmosphere by way
of the furnace stack. The main reaction which yields vinyl chloride and hydrogen
chloride is a homogeneous, first order free-radical chain mechanism, see equation 8.

14
Several by products are produced through free-radical and molecular mechanism, see
equations 8-16.

ClCH2CH2Cl ↔ C2H3Cl + HCl Eqn. (8)

C2H3Cl ↔ C2H2 + HCl Eqn. (9)
H· + HCl ↔ H2 + Cl· Eqn. (10)
Cl + C2H4 ↔ HCl + C2H3· Eqn. (11)
C2H3· + C2H2 ↔ C4H5· Eqn. (12)
C4H5· ↔ H· + C4H4 Eqn. (13)
C4H5· + HCl ↔ C4H6 +Cl Eqn. (14)
C4H5· + C2H2 ↔ C6H7· Eqn. (15)
C6H7· ↔ c-C6H7· Eqn. (16)
c-C6H7· ↔ H + C6H6 Eqn. (17)

It is very difficult to verify the formation and amount of by products (11). Also it is very
difficult to obtain kinetics parameters of the reactions involved (11). The pyrolysis
kinetics were obtained from the following sources Choi, Weissmann, and Kurtz
(3,23,10). Using the kinetic data and conversion of EDC data given by Kirk-Othmer and
Choi the cracking furnace was modeled and then a conversion reactor was used in the Pro
II process simulation (9,3). Conversion of EDC is maintained at 50-55%. Operating the
furnace at a higher conversion decreased the selectivity to vinyl chloride. One way to
increase conversion while maintaining high selectivity is to allow a small amount, 1200
ppm of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), a oxychlorination by-product, to enter with the feed.
This increases free chlorine radical formation, which increases conversion to 60%. The
Pro II simulation determined a selectivity of vinyl chloride to 98.8% at a conversion of
60%. This corresponds well to literature values of 99.9% selectivity at 54% conversion
with no CCl4 present in feed. The effluent from the reactor must be quenched quickly to
avoid coke formation and heavy tar formation (9). Re-circulating liquid streams
quenches the reactor effluent. Next, two separate flash drums are needed to flash the
effluent. From this the effluent will now be ready for vinyl chloride purification. Figure
5 presents the process flow diagram for the EDC cracking and quench sections of the
vinyl chloride plant.

3.15 EDC Cracking and Quench Control and Instrumentation

The EDC cracking furnace fuel gas flow rate is controlled by a ratio control of effluent
flow rate and temperature. A cascade controller system is used to control the heat
exchangers. See Figure 6 for the oxychlorination P&ID. Appendix A contains
corresponding stream and equipment tag numbers and descriptions.

15
 Figure 6: EDC Cracking and Quench Section

3.16 Vinyl Chloride Purification

Two distillation columns are used to separate vinyl chloride from EDC, HCl and
remaining by-products. The first column, HCl column, distills the hydrogen chloride
mixture to a pure overhead product. This HCl is recycled to the oxychlorination reactor.
The HCl column consists of 42 trays and operates at a top tray pressure of 135 psig with a
column pressure drop of 10 psig. The bottoms product of the HCl column is fed to the
second column, the VCM column. The VCM column consists of 20 trays and operates at
a top tray pressure of 65 psig with a column pressure drop of 10 psig. A VCM product of
99.9 wt% is produced as the overhead product of the VCM column. The bottoms of the
VCM column are recycled to the lights column for re-purification.

3.17 VCM Purification Control and Instrumentation

The HCl column is controlled by a overhead and bottoms control loop. The bottoms
control loop utilizes a low select switch control steam flow rate. A differential pressure
controller and a composition controller each call for a certain steam flow which ever is
the smallest is selected by the low select switch. The differential pressure controller has a
set point equal to the maximum tray pressure drop and the composition controller’s set
point is the desired composition of the bottoms. The overhead control loop utilizes a
level controller on the reflux drum to control the reflux ratio. The VCM column is
controlled by an overhead and bottoms control loop. The bottoms temperature is
controlled by the steam flow rate to the reboiler. In the overhead control loop the level
control of the reflux drum is established by the distillate flow rate, reflux ratio is adjusted
by the composition controller in order to control distillate composition. See Figure 7 for
the oxychlorination P&ID. Appendix A contains corresponding stream and equipment
tag numbers and descriptions.

16
 Figure 7: VCM Purification Section

3.18 Heat Integration Design

The vinyl chloride plant process design includes a heat-integrated network. Based on the
stream data and the temperature targets that are required for the process a table cascade
was constructed to find the minimum utilities. The ∆Tmin of the system equals 10 oF.
Table 7 shows the stream data for the vinyl chloride plant. Table 8 presents a table
cascade diagram

Table 7: Stream Data

F*Cp
Initial T Target T Cp
Stream TS* TT* m (lb/hr) (Btu/hr-
(F) (F) (BTU/lb-F)
F)
Hot E1 588 248 583 243 0.2881 5.64E+05 1.62E+05
Cold E2 316 318 321 323 0.3316 1.99E+06 6.60E+05
Hot E3 263 90 258 85 0.2363 2.03E+06 4.79E+05
Hot E4 254 25 249 20 0.2321 1.98E+06 4.59E+05
Cold Furnace 299 932 304 937 0.285 1.98E+06 5.65E+05
Hot T2 (Cond) 316 310 311 305 0.3316 3.98E+06 1.32E+06
Cold T3(Rebolier) 173 197 178 202 0.381 3.75E+06 1.43E+06
Cold T4(Reboiler) 309 311 314 316 0.334 2.40E+06 8.01E+05

17
 Table 8: Cascade Table Diagram
Temperature Hot Utility
(F) ∆ Hint (BTU/hr)
937 3.08E+08
2.00E+08
583 1.08E+08
1.05E+08
323 4.13E+06
2.12E+06
321 2.01E+06
2.01E+06
316 0.0000
-9.98E+05
314 9.97E+05
9.65E+05
311 3.28E+04
-5.60E+06
305 5.63E+06
4.02E+05
304 5.23E+06
-7.47E+06
258 1.27E+07
-5.78E+06
249 1.84E+07
-6.61E+06
243 2.50E+07
-3.86E+07
202 6.36E+07
2.28E+07
178 4.08E+07
-8.76E+07
85 1.28E+08
-2.99E+07
1.58E+08
Cold Utility
(BTU/hr)

From the cascade diagram the minimum hot utility is 308 MMBtu/hr and the minimum
cold utility is 158 MMBtu/hr. These utilities include all heat exchangers, furnace, and
the heavies columns condenser, HCl column reboiler, and VCM column reboiler. The
heavies column pressure was increased from 60 to 80 psig to increase the condenser
temperature which then allowed for heat transfer to the HCl and VCM column reboilers.
The pinch temperature is equal to 316 oF. See Appendix B-3 for corresponding grand
composite curve of the heat integrated system. The overall energy requirements of the
plant, including all equipment, reduced from 1247 to 903 MMBtu/hr for the hot utility
and a corresponding reduction of cold utility from 652 MMBtu/hr to 308 MMBtu/hr.
Refer to Table B2 in Appendix B for the optimal network design.

18
Section 4: Waste Treatment

4.1 Vapor and Liquid By-Product Treatment

Many waste by-products are formed during the production of vinyl chloride. These by-
products can be very harmful to the environment as well as to human health. Because of
this, these by-products must be either eliminated or reduced. It is unreasonable to think
that all the by-products can be totally eliminated; they can only be reduced into other
compounds. In order to reduce these by-products, a waste treatment method has been
implemented.

The by-products formed in the process are found in waste streams arising from EDC
Purification and Pyrolysis, as well as the Direct Chlorination Caustic Scrubber, and the
Oxychlorination Reactors. These waste streams come in two forms, liquid and vapor.
The vapor wastes contain more contaminants than the liquid wastes and this is due to the
fact of the high temperatures with which the reactors are run.

Many different treatment techniques that could reduce the by-products are available.
These treatment techniques are examined for their technical feasibility in regards to the
process. These treatments include condensation, absorption/scrubbing, flaring, and
catalytic and thermal incineration. Condensation is the liquefication of contaminants by
the use of low temperatures. That is, the compounds to be removed from the gas phase
are cooled to a temperature at which their partial pressure in the gas stream surpasses
their dew point so that they turn to liquids (8). The liquids are then packaged and are
prepared for either selling or disposal. “Flaring is another combustion technique that
involves the direct burning of an organic stream in an open flame” (8). Catalytic
incineration involves the burning of the by-products using a catalyst. Thermal
incineration involves the burning of combustible wastes. After examining each one of
these treatments it was found that using one single treatment method would not be
sufficient in significantly reducing the waste streams. In fact, other waste streams are
created as a result of using the treatments by themselves.

From here it was then decided to implement a treatment method that incorporated a
combination of the single treatments. A treatment method that incorporated incineration,
absorption, and scrubbing technologies was selected. Figure 8 shows this treatment
method.

Figure 8: Waste Treatment Section

19
The first step in this treatment method is to send all the liquid and vapor wastes to the
incinerator, where they are all combusted at a temperature of 1127 oC. The organic
compounds in the waste streams contain chlorine attached to them. “These elements
create complications by adding extra products of combustion” (43). By inspection it was
found that carbon dioxide (CO2), water (H2O), hydrochloric acid (HCl), chlorine gas
(Cl2), nitrous oxides (NOx), and chlorooxides (ClOx) would be formed. A
thermodynamic analysis was then performed on all the combustion reactions to determine
what actual products would form and be present at equilibrium. From here it was
determined that the ClOx would actually be more prevalent than the Cl2 and HCl.
Although this is true, the ClOx will not be present after incineration. This is simply
because the ClOx is very unstable. Chlorooxides actually dissociate and donate chlorine
and oxygen anions. These chlorine and oxygen anions then attach to hydrogen to form
the aforementioned HCl and H2O. Therefore, as a result of the incineration process, CO2,
H2O, HCl, Cl2, and NOx are formed. These products are then sent to an absorption
column. This column uses water as a solvent and removes HCl and H2O from the stream.
From here the remaining products are sent to another absorption column, this one using
NaOH as the solvent. Here the NaOH removes the Cl2 and forms a solution of sodium
chloride and sodium hypochlorite, which is sold to an industrial bleach production
company. The CO2 is then sent to where it will be sequestered. The NOx in our system
must be accounted for. The NOx production is very minimal and in fact it is negligible.
The NOx is actually only about 7 x 10-4 percent of the waste streams. Tables 9, 10, and
11 show the design parameters of this waste treatment method.

Table 9: Auxiliary Fuel Needed.

Waste Stream Flow Rate (kg/hr) Auxiliary Fuel Flowrate Of
(kg/hr)
4596 150

Table 10: Column Specifications for Absorption Column

Design Parameters Values
Solvent Flowrate 45000 lbs/hr
Column Diameter 4.5 ft
NOG 12 trays
HOG .83 ft
Height of Packing 10 ft

Table 11: Column Specifications for Caustic Scrubber

Design Parameters Values
Solvent Flowrate 154,000 lbs/hr
Column Diameter 5.7 ft
NOG 20 trays
HOG .75 ft
Height of Packing 15 ft

20
4.2 Process Water Treatment
The water stream from the water wash drum needs to be treated before it can be disposed.
The contaminants of this water stream can be seen in Table 12. The EPA enforces strict
regulations for release into the environment. However, the costs associated with
obtaining water will be reduced by treating the stream and recycling it back to the system.

Table 12: Water Stream Data

Water Wash Drum(L/hr)
Water 41,000
NaCl 0
HCl 200
Chloral 26
EDC 680
CCl4 180
TCE 170

All of the chemicals can be removed from the water by adsorption, aeration (air
stripping), or by boiling. Since the water is being recycled back to the system the only
feasible solution is using adsorption. The EPA considers liquid phase granular activated
carbon adsorption the best available control technology. Activated carbon adsorption is
often favored because it has the following characteristics:

• The ability to remove more than 99% of contaminants

• Simple design and operation
• No waste by-products requiring costly disposal
• Safe process that has the ability to operate at low pressure and temperature with
minimal toxic gases and dangerous chemicals.

The activated carbon treatment system was designed using design equations that can be
found in Appendix E. The results for the column are shown in Table 13.

Table 13: Adsorption Column Specifications

Carbon Mass 21000 lb
Adsorber Volume 170 ft3
Adsorber Area 36 ft2
Velocity 7 ft/min
Contact Time 27 min
Equilibrium Saturation 19 days

21
 Carbon In Gas Out

Rabble Arm
200-300oF
300-450oF
400-1000oF Rabble Teeth
1000-1600oF
1600-1800oF
1600-1800oF

Carbon Out

Figure 9: Carbon Regeneration Column

The system was designed to remove 100% of the contaminants.

When the carbon has reached the saturation point (19 days), it will need to be
regenerated. Therefore, carbon regeneration column will be installed (see Figure 9).
Thermal regeneration is the process of removing adsorbed contaminants in carbon, using
thermal desorption and high temperature treatment. The 3 major variables involved are
furnace temperature, residence time and carbon loading. Residence time can be changed
by varying the rabble arm speed. Hearths 1-2, seen in figure 9, (200-450 oF) are included
for water evaporation and physical desorption of VOCs. Hearth 3 (400-1000 oF) is
included for the pyrolysis of non VOCs and carbonization of residue. Hearths 4 and 6
(1000-1800 oF) are included for uniform distribution of temperature. Hearth 5 (1600-
1800 oF) is the hearth in which activation occurs.

Section 5: HAZOP

The purpose of HAZOP studies is to reduce the possibility of work related injuries. Due
to the processing and handling of hazardous materials, the vinyl chloride plant has many
inherent dangers. The first step of the HAZOP study is to subdivide the plant into
sections and plan the sequence. The whole process is divided into small sessions. Each
session will have one or two major equipment such as flask, column, reactor or heat
exchanger. The plant will be divided from upstream to downstream. Secondly, all the
deviations were studied to find out all he causes as well as the consequences. Knowing
the causes and consequences, additional safety equipment might be added to the plant.
All the actions that should be done to improve safety and to guide others in case the
problem happens were also suggested. All the details on the HAZOP studies for this
VCM plant can be found in appendix C.

22
Section 6: Plant Location

The plant will be located in Taft, Louisiana. The decision making process utilized a
factor rating maximization method. This method takes several attributes of a potential
location into consideration when comparing it to other locations. These attributes or
factors are ranked according to their importance to the success of the plant. These factors
are all placed into the same scale so as to not distort the weight of a factor that inherently
has larger values than others.

The factors chosen for this location decision are raw materials, particularly distance
between ethylene and chlorine and abundance, total tax rates, including corporate income
tax, property tax, and sales tax, wages, utilities, and land cost. All of these attributes have
values that can be compared between the different location options.

There are two heuristics that need to be followed in order to obtain the locations that are
to be compared.
• It is imperative that the location be within close proximity of ethylene and
chlorine. No more than 20 miles, as the resulting transportation costs will
substantially reduce the profitability of the VCM plant.
• The ethylene and chlorine plants should be separate from existing VCM plants
in order to minimize the effects of competition. This is also an important
factor as far as emissions are concerned, simply because more plants in a
certain area will decrease the quality of the air in that area.

Applying both heuristics results in two possible locations, Taft, LA, and Corpus Christi,
TX. These locations are compared using the above factors. The attributes are given
relative weighting factors, which are represented as percentages, adding up to 100%.
There are 6 factors considered, thus there are six weighting factors assigned. The highest
percentage is 30% and is given to the distance between the ethylene and chlorine
locations. This importance is illustrated in the first heuristic. The next highest
percentage of 25% is given to the abundance of raw material plants. More raw materials
are desirable when considering future expansion. The tax rates are given the next highest
percentage of 20%. The tax rates are an important annual cost that becomes significant
when applied to the amount of revenue generated from the selling of VCM product. The
fourth most important factor is the difference in wages. Wages vary from region to
region, and are an ongoing cost associated with operating a plant. Wages are given a
weight of 12%. The utility costs are less than the salaries paid to employees, thus the
weight percentage given to it is lower, at 8%. Lower, however, does not mean that it will
not have a significant impact on the operating cost of the plant if overlooked. The last
consideration is the cost of the land in each of the locations. This is least important
aspect of the six, and is given the lowest weight of 5%. The land cost does not affect the
operating cost, and is merely a one-time cost. All of the other considerations will
continually affect the amount of profit that is made.

23
Each location has a unique value for each of the categories stated above. However, some
of these values are different orders of magnitude compared to others. Multiplying the
weight percentages by the actual values will give misleading results. For example, the
values for land costs in TX and LA are $640 and $1270 per acre, respectively. These are
much higher than the values for utilities, which are $3.50 and $3.30 per MMBTU.
Therefore, if a minimum value is desired, the land cost will contribute a significantly
higher value when multiplied by the weight percentage. This is misleading, because it
gives a lot more weight to the land cost over the utility cost which is a much more
significant value. In order to make sure that the correct amount of weight is given to each
value, the percentages of each value within each factor must be calculated in order to
create a situation where all factors are compared on the same scale. For example the
percentage value for the land cost in TX is 34%, and the land cost in LA is 66%. These
percentages can be used, because they represent the value as it is related to the other
value. There is however, one drawback of using the relative percentages. This occurs
when the values are not necessarily better if they are lower. A lower land cost is more
desirable than a higher land cost, however being located near three chlorine plants is
more beneficial than being located near only 1. It is for this reason that the raw material
abundance factor must be treated differently. These percentage values must be switched.
Therefore, if the number of chlorine plants near Taft, LA is 3, and the number of chlorine
plants near Corpus Christi, TX is 1, then the percentage values for this factor are 75% and
25%, respectively. However this shows an advantage to the location with less chlorine
plants in close proximity, so the results are not accurate. Thus, the percentages need to
be switched, so the 75% will be assigned to Taft, LA, and 25% will be assigned to
Corpus Christi, TX. All aspects are now on the same scale and are ready to be summed
into one value. The lowest value will provide the location that will provide the most
profitable environment. Table 14 below shows both locations’ values for each factor.

Table 14: Table of values and factor ratings used for plant location.
Factor Weight % Taft, LA Corpus Christi, TX
Value % Factor Value Value % Factor Value
Raw Materials
Distance (miles) 30 3 0.15 0.045 17 0.85 0.255
# Plants 25
Chlorine 3 0.25 0.063 1 0.75 0.188
Ethylene 1 0.50 0.125 1 0.50 0.125
Taxes 20
Corporate Income (%) 8 1.00 0.200 0 0.00 0.000
Sales 4 0.39 0.078 6.25 0.61 0.122
Property 25 0.42 0.085 34 0.58 0.115
Wages 12 0.95 0.48 0.058 1.03 0.52 0.062
Utilities ($/MMBTU) 8 3.5 0.51 0.041 3.3 0.49 0.039
Land ($/acre) 5 1270 0.66 0.033 640 0.34 0.017
Total 0.727 Total 0.923

24
The lowest total factor value represents the location with the most potential for a
profitable environment. In this case Taft, LA will be the location of the environmentally
safe vinyl chloride plant.

Section 7: Risk Analysis and Probability

Predicting how long the project will last, how much it costs, or how much it profits is
almost impossible, and a single point study can be dangerously misleading. Risk analysis
using Monte- Carlo simulation can answer question such as: “How confidence are we
that profits will be more than three million dollars?” or “What are the chances that this
specific plant capacity will end up losing money?”. In this specific project, the objective
of doing risk analysis is to choose a plant capacity that has the highest net present worth
and lowest chance of losing money. Three different plant capacities: 4.09 billion, 6.44
billion and 10.5 billion VCM production per year were studied. Forecasting prices for
raw materials as hydrogen chloride, chlorine, oxygen and product vinyl chloride
monomer was carried out to predict the prices for the future years. Then economic and
risk analysis was done on all three to choose the most reliable and beneficial capacity for
the plant.

7.1 Forecasting of Prices

Prices for the previous 20 years were taken into consideration for forecasting. The
changes in prices for these materials are all increasing. The trend of chlorine can be seen
in Figure 10.

Prices of Chlorine vs. Year

220
Prices of Chlorine ($/ton)

200

180
y = 2.0662x - 3926.7
160 R2 = 0.9579

140
1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
Year

Figure 10: Trend in changing chlorine price

From the chart, the price of chlorine was found to have a linear relationship with the year.
The mean of this graph was extended in order to predict future prices. However, merely
using the mean values of the plot is not sufficient, so the prices were estimated by
generating random numbers of the mean and standard deviation. Nearly one thousand
cases were evaluated, with each giving different prices of the raw materials and product.

25
Prices for 2004-2011 were calculated to range from $212 to $225/ton. The same method
was performed to forecast the prices of ethylene, oxygen and vinyl chloride. All the
forecasted values are shown in table 15. These values will be used as the base values for
doing economic analysis and risk analysis.

Table 15: Forecasted prices of raw materials product

Year Ethylene Chlorine Oxygen VCM
$/ton $/ton $/ft3 $/ton
2004 492.55 212.21 0.00144 499.19
2005 499.39 214.14 0.00144 506.19
2006 506.22 216.07 0.00143 513.18
2007 513.06 218.00 0.00142 520.18
2008 519.90 219.93 0.00141 527.18
2009 526.73 221.86 0.00140 529.17
2010 533.57 223.79 0.00139 535.17
2011 540.41 225.72 0.00138 543.17
Std. Dev 24.17 10.56 0.00010 26.15

7.2 Brief Economic Analysis

A brief economic analysis was done for the aforementioned capacities with a project
lifetime of 20 years. For this general analysis, most of the components of total product
cost (i.e. direct cost, fixed charges, overhead costs, and general expenses) were based on
the percentages given in Peter and Timmerhaus (16). A more detailed analysis will be
discussed for the chosen plant capacity in the section 8.

Table 16: Economic results for different capacities

Plant Capacity 4.09E9 lb/yr 6.44E9 lb/yr 1.05E10 lb/yr
TCI $47,110,219 $68,886,317 $77,154,892
NPW $133,739,890 $284,828,289 $161,759,443
ROI 0.24 0.25 0.20

The total capital investment is proportional to the plant capacity. As plant capacity
increases, costs in all areas increase, which causes the total capital cost to increase.
However, the net present worth and rate of return on investment reach a maximum at a
plant capacity of 6.44 billion lb/yr. The net present worth and rate of return on
investment are criteria, which is used to determine which capacity is the best.

26
7.3 Risk Analysis and Probability
The steps for the risk analysis are shown in the following figure:

Random Number Raw m aterial Total Product

Generation Cost Cost

Income from
Gross Incom e
selling VCM

Net Present
Cash Flow Net Profit
W orth

Risk &
Probability

Figure 11: Procedure of Risk Analysis

Gross income depends on the total production cost and income from selling vinyl
chloride. The amount of raw materials and VCM production for each year is different for
different years until the demand meets maximum capacity of the plant. Therefore, the
cost and income are different for each plant capacity. The detailed flow rates are shown
in table 17.

Table 17: Flow rates of raw materials and VCM for different years
Year Ethylene Chlorine Ethylene Oxygen VCM
Lb-mol/hr lb-mol/hr lb-mol/hr lb-mol/hr lb-mol/hr
2004 2700 2690 2700 1350 3602
2005 4200 4190 4200 2100 5521
2006 5600 5590 5600 2800 7355
2007 7400 7390 7400 3700 9551
2008 9050 9040 9050 4525 11888
2009 10800 10790 10800 5400 14322
2010 12750 12740 12750 6375 16535
2011 14700 14690 14700 7350 18972

Net present worth is calculated based on cash flow method, which uses the following
equation:

27
 n −1
CFk CFn + VS + I W
NPW = ∑ + − TCI
k =1 (1 + i ) k
(1 + i )n
Eqn. (18)

From approximately a thousand trials, the probability of having the net present worth at a
specific value can be calculated. Figure 12 shows the probabilities of different net present
worth for three different capacities. A plant capacity of 10.5 billion lbs/year shows a
high probability of having positive net present worth, but it also shows a high probability
of having negative net present worth. It will be very risky if this option is chosen. The
probability of making money with a plant capacity of 4.09 billion lbs/year is lower than
the probability of losing money. This is illustrated in the Figure 12. A plant capacity of
6.44 billion lbs/yr shows the most preferred probability function, which has a high chance
of making money and a low chance of losing money.

Probability vs. Net Present Worth

0.35

0.3

0.25
Probability

0.2

0.15

0.1

0.05

0
-4500 -3000 -1500 0 6 1500 3000
NPW ($10 )
6.44E9 lb/yr 4.09E9 lb/yr 1.05E10 lb/yr

Figure 12: Probability vs. NPW for three different capacities

The risk curves are also constructed using the net present worth values that were
calculated. The risk curves show a 36% chance of losing money for the 10.5 billion
lbs/year capacity, 31.7% for the 6.44 billion lbs/yr capacity and 41% chance for the 4.09
billion lbs/year capacity. The 6.44 billion lbs/yr curve is the most preferred capacity since
it has the lowest risk. See Figure 13 for the associated risk at different plant capacitates.

28
 Risk at Different Capacity

1
Cummulative Probability
0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
-6.00E+09 -4.00E+09 -2.00E+09 0.00E+00 2.00E+09 4.00E+09 6.00E+09
Net Present Worth ($)
6.44E9 lb/yr 4.09E9 lb/yr 1.05E10 lb/yr

Figure 13: Risk of different capacities

7.4 Plant Capacity Selection

Economics in addition to probability and risk analysis showed that the plant capacity of
6.44 billion pounds of VCM per year is the best one. It has the highest net present worth
of $286 million, highest rate of return of 0.25 and lowest risk of losing money, 31.7%.

Section 8: Economic Analysis

The total plant cost was approximated from the total capital investment, total product
cost, and environmental cost. The capital investment from the total equipment cost was
found using the “Ratio Factor” method described in Peters and Timmerhaus (16). The
production cost is the cost associated with plant operation. The environmental cost
includes installing and running the incineration unit and the adsorption system. The total
equipment cost for the capacity of 6.4 billion pounds per year was found to be $15.3
million, with a total capital investment of $69.85 million. The plant has the potential to
make profit of up to $26.2 million/year in the next five years. The net present worth
associated with this plant was found to be around $265 million with a rate of return of 24
percent.

8.1 Equipment Cost

The major equipment for this plant consists of four heat exchangers, four distillation
towers, seven flash tanks, three reactors, two carbon adsorption columns, regeneration
unit, incineration unit, absorption column, and a scrubbing column. The equipment price
values were determined using the flow rate, capacities, diameter, and surface area to
purchase cost found in Peters and Timmerhaus.

For the heat exchangers, the overall heat transfer area (U) was assumed from the hot or
cold fluid used for each heat exchanger (16). Using the duty and log-mean temperature
difference; the surface area for each heat exchanger was determined.

29
 Table 18: Heat Exchanger Cost
Heat Exchangers
Heat LMTD Area Cost ($) Cost ($)
Cooling/Heating U (Btu/h*ft2*F) Duty
Exchangers (F) (ft2) 1990 2003
E1 Cooling 866.45 112 70.67 728.24 9,000 10,260
E2 Cooling 756.27 112 196.23 2316.70 19,000 21,660
E3 Cooling 632.34 112 312.45 4411.76 28,000 31,920
E4 Cooling 592.17 112 392.84 5923.13 35,000 39,900
91,000 103,740

Using the graph of surface area to purchased cost from figure 15-16 in P&T, the cost of
the heat exchangers was estimated (16). However, these prices are not current; therefore
to update the price, the Marshall and Swift index values were used. As shown in the
table 18, the cost of the heat exchangers for year 2003 was found to be $103,740.

Using the correlation of column diameter to cost per tray from figure 16-25 in P&T, the
cost of trays in the distillation tower (including installation cost) was estimated. The
total cost of the towers was found to be around $3.6 million.
Table 19: Distillation Tower Cost
Distillation Towers
Number Diameter Diameter Cost ($) Cost ($)
Tower Cost/Tray
of Trays (in.) (ft.) 1990 2003
T1 15 234 19.5 13000 195,000 222,300
T2 28 324 27 50000 1,400,000 1,596,000
T3 40 264 22 30000 1,200,000 1,368,000
T4 18 216 18 20000 360,000 410,400
3,155,000 3,596,700

The capacities of the flash tanks were obtained from the flow rates. To estimate the cost
of the flash tank, the correlation of flow rates to purchase cost from figure 14-56 in P&T
was used. The total cost of the flash tanks for 2003 was around $230 thousand.
Table 20: Flash Tank Cost
Flash Tanks
Inlet Residence Time Capacity Cost Vapor Liquid Rate Cost ($)
Tanks 3 3
(ft /hr) (hrs) (gallons) ($)1990 Rate(ft /hr) (ft3/hr) 2003
F1 911.58 0.24 1636 7000 386.525 1.586 7980
F2 301.37 0.24 541 4000 3363.366 284.587 4560
F3 14763.59 0.24 26504 35000 2362.634 13400.93 39900
F4 6073.89 0.24 10904 21000 6092.577 5057.013 23940
F5 2553.39 0.24 4584 16000 12553.337 0 18240
F6 27564.94 0.24 49485 59000 2858.02 26174.15 67260
F7 30820.93 0.24 55330 60000 0 31242.7 68400
202000 230,280

30
For reactor sizing, both oxy-chlorination and direct chlorination reactors were treated as
plug flow tubular reactors (PFTR). Plug flow tubular reactors can be considered shell
and tube heat exchangers. The overall heat transfer area (U) was assumed from the hot
or cold fluid used for each reactor. Using the duty and log-mean temperature difference
(from pro II), the surface area for each reactor was determined. The cost of these reactors
was determined using the correlation of surface area to purchase cost.
Table 21: Reactors Cost
Reactors
Output Residence Cost ($) Cost ($)
Capacity
Types Stream Time (1990) (2003)
DC 3444.032 0.0178 458.5522 27000 30780
OC 3737.495 0.243 6793.4204 110000 125400
Duty (MM Kcal/hr) 9.12E+06 10,396800
Cracking 159.6 9257000 10,552,980

The third reactor, known as cracking reactor, was treated like a furnace. From the duty
(from pro II) of the reactor, the cost of the reactor was estimated. As shown in the table
21, the cost of the towers was found to be around $10.5 million.

8.2 Waste Treatment Units

The environmental costs include all of the costs associated with removing toxic
contaminants from the waste streams that are released to the environment. These costs are
necessary because the EPA regulates the chemicals that can be harmful to humans. The
cost of the adsorption column was determined using capacity to price correlation.
Adding all the equipments, the total equipment cost was found to be a $15.3 million. The
possible uncertainties in estimating the price of equipments were (+/-) 5 %.

Table 22: Adsorption System and Incineration Unit Cost

Adsorption System Incineration Unit
Capacity Cost ($) Cost ($) Capacity ($) Cost($) Cost ($)
(gallons) 1990 2003 m3/hr 1990 2003
1279.52 550,000 660000 25.2 117000 140400

8.3 Total Capital Investment

A large sum of money must be supplied to purchase and install the equipment. Capital
investment estimation is necessary to estimate necessary investment for the vinyl chloride
plant. The total capital consists of fixed-capital investment and working capital.

31
 Table 23: Total Capital Investment
Total Capital Investment
Total Equipment Cost $15,284,100
Variables Description Cost ($)
Equipment Installed 47% of TEC (P&T) 7,183,527
Incineration Unit (install) Flow Rate Correlation 10,500
Instrumentation & Control 18% of TEC (P&T) 2,751,138
Piping (installed) 50% of TEC (P&T) 7,642,050
Electrical (installed) 11% of TEC (P&T) 1,681,251
Total 19,268,466
Building Cost
Office $45/ft2 (Brick Building) in 3000 ft2 135,000
Process Building (5-Unit) $15/ ft2 (Steel Building)in 4500 ft2/Unit 375,000
Service Building $45/ ft2 (Brick Building) in 2000 ft2 90,000
Storage Building $15/ ft2 (Steel Building)in 4000 ft2/Unit 62,500
Maintenance Unit/Shop $45/ ft2 (Brick Building) in 1500 ft2 67,500
Administration/Accounting $45/ ft2 (Brick Building) in 2500 ft2 112,500
Environment/Research $45/ ft2 (Brick Building) in 3000 ft2 135,000
Total 977,500
Yard Improvement
Site Cleaning $4400/acre (total of 50 acres) 220,000
Grading $465/acre (total of 10 acres) 4,650
Fencing $9/ft (total of 9000 ft) 81,000
Walkways $4.50/ ft2 (total of 5000 ft2) 22,500
Total 328,150
Land Cost $1270/acre (total of 50 acres) 63,500
Total Direct Plant Cost 35,921,716
Engineering & Supervision 32% of TEC (P&T) 4,890,912
Construction Expenses 41% of TEC (P&T) 6,266,481
Contractor's Fee 21% of TEC (P&T) 3,209,661
Contingency 42% of TEC (P&T) 6,419,322
Total Indirect Cost 20,786,376
Working Capital 86% of TEC (P&T) 13,144,326
Total Capital Investment Direct+Indirect+Working Capital 69,852,418

For this vinyl chloride plant, the total capital cost was determined by applying the factor
estimation (“Ratio Factor”) method described in Peters and Timmerhaus (16). However,
these factors were altered based on our plant capacity. As shown in table 20, the building
construction, yard improvement and land costs were determined based on our plant
capacity. The costs associated with the building were found to be around $977 thousand
dollars. The total capital investment for our plant was estimated to be $69.8 million. The
possible accuracy for estimating capital investment was (+/-) 15 % when using this
method.

32
8.4 Total Product Cost
The operating cost and revenue generated from products are the most important aspects
of running a plant. These costs are grouped under total product cost, which in turn is
divided into manufacturing cost and general cost. The manufacturing cost consists of
direct product cost, fixed cost and plant overhead cost. The general expenses include
administrative expenses, distribution and marketing expenses, and quality control cost.
The table below shows the cost associated with total product cost.

8.5 Direct Product Cost

The direct product cost includes the cost of raw materials, operating labor, direct
supervisory and clerical, utilities, maintenance and repairs, and operating supplies.

For any plant, operating labor cost contributes a major portion to the total product cost.
In table 24, the detailed cost associated with the specific types of labor is shown. These
values are obtained from taking an average of the individual salaries, which were
determined by the U.S. Department of Labor. It should be noted that all non-essential
laborers (e.g. janitors, security officers, etc.) were excluded in the determination of the
average salaries. The total labor cost for our plant was found to be $5.14 million per
year.
Table 24: Operating Labor Cost
Employee # of Employee $/yr Total ($/yr)
Plant Chairman 1 105000 105000
Managers
Plant Manager 1 80000 80000
Unit Managers 5 73000 365000
Operational Engineers
Computer Programmer 1 62890 62890
Computer Engineer 2 74310 148620
Chemical Engineers 5 72780 363900
Process Engineers 5 73000 365000
Electrical Engineers 3 68630 205890
Environment Engineers 3 62000 186000
Industrial Engineers 3 61900 185700
Mechanical Engineers 2 63500 127000
Maintenance Engineers 2 30000 60000
Operator 30 68000 2040000
Supervisor 5 70000 350000
Administration
Financial Manager 1 60000 60000
Production Manager 1 68000 68000
Sales Manager 1 60000 60000
Accounting
Budget Analysts 2 53000 106000
Financial Analysts 1 62000 62000
Tax Prepares 2 33000 66000
Auditor 2 35000 70000
Total 5,137,000

33
Another major cost associated in estimating direct product cost is the cost associated with
utilities. The cost of utilities, such as steam (for hot utility) and cooling water (for cold
utility) depends on the plant capacity and raw material consumption. The price of the hot
utility depends upon the price of natural gas. The price of the hot and cold utility was
found to be $3.3/MMBTU and $0.5/MMBTU, respectively. As shown in Table 25, the
overall utility cost was found to be $20.5 million per year. To maintain the efficiency of
the plant, regular maintenance and repair is necessary. Assuming 2% of the fixed capital
investment (P&T), the maintenance and repair cost was found to be around $1.1 million
per year. The operating cost for our plant was estimated to be $170 thousand dollars per
year.

Table 25: Net Profit

Summary of Annual Costs along with the Total Product Cost (2008)
Working Capital $13,144,326
Fix Capital Investment ($) $56,708,092
Total Capital Investment ($) $69,852,418
Manufacturing Cost Assumption $/yr
Direct Product Cost Assumption $/yr
1 Raw Materials Ethylene, Chlorine, Oxygen, Carbon, Methane 1,553,971,400
2 Operating Labor 5,137,000
3 Utilitites
Hot Utility $3/MMBTU heating, 930 MMBTU/hr 19,154,400
Cold Utility $0.5/MMBTU/cooling, 448 MMBTU/hr 1,492,378
4 Maintenance and Repair 2% of Fixed Capital Investment 1,134,162
5 Operating Supplies 15% of Cost for Maintenance and Repair 170,124
Sub Total 1,581,059,464
Fix Charges Assumption $/yr
1 Capital Cost or Depreciation Sinking Fund Method for Project life to be 20 yrs 3,155,987
2 Local Taxes 1% of Fix Capital Investment 567,081
3 Insurance 0.8% of Fix Capital Investment 453,665
Sub Total 4,176,733
Overhead Costs 40% of Operating Labor, Supervision & 2,054,800
Maintenance
Manufacturing Cost Direct Product Cost+Fix Charges+Overhead Cost 1,587,290,996

General Expenses Assumption $/yr

1 Administration Costs 15% of the operating labor 770,550
2 Distribution and Selling Costs 0.1% Direct production cost 1,581,059
Sub Total 2,351,609

Total Product Cost ( C ) Manufacturing Cost+ General Expenses 1,589,642,606

Gross Income
Assumptions $/yr
1 Selling Price of Vinyl Chloride $527/ton, 11888 lb-mol/hr, 24 hr/day, 365 days/yr 1,631,006,997
Gross Income (G) Selling Price - Total Production Cost 41,364,391
Net Profit (P)
Assumption dollars ($)
1 Depreciation (D) Sinking-fund depreciation, Salvage value 5% of FC 1,629,249
2 Net Profit (P) G-D-(G-D)*tax 26,225,194
Annual Cash Flow Cash flow for the first year 27,854,443
3 Net Present Worth (NPW) Function of cash flow, TCI, working capital 265,926,784
5 Paid Out Time (POT) FCI-Salvage value/Average Cash Flow 1.83
6 Rate of Return (ROI) Cash flow method 0.238

34
8.6 Fixed Cost
Regardless of whether manufacturing processes are under operating conditions or not,
certain expenses are always associated with any existing plant. This cost is called the
fixed cost. The cost associated with fixed charges includes: depreciation, local taxes and
insurance. These costs represent a percentage of the capital investment. The depreciation
was determined using the sinking-fund method for a project life of twenty years. As
shown in Table 25, the fixed costs were estimated to be $4.2 million per year.

8.7 Overhead Cost

Other expenses required for plant operation include overhead costs. These costs include
safety services, non-manufacturing machineries, interplant communications,
transportation, and shipping and receiving facilities. Assuming the overhead cost to be
40% of the total operating labor, which includes supervision and maintenance, the plant
overhead cost was found to be $2.05 million per year.

8.8 General Expenses

General expenses include administration cost, distribution and marketing cost, and
quality control cost. The administration cost includes salaries and wages for
administrators, accountants, secretaries, typists, office supplies and outside
communications. The distribution and marketing cost is the cost associated with selling
the products. The sum total of all the above costs comes out to be $2.3 million per year.

Summing the total manufacturing cost and general expenses, the total product cost was
estimated to be $1.59 billion per year. The approximate accuracy for estimating the total
product cost was up to (+/-) 15 %. However, alternative methods for cost calculation
should be taken into account to verify our result.

8.9 Total Net Profit

Net profit is a function of gross income, depreciation and taxes. Using the price
mentioned in Table 25, the selling price of the product was found to be $1.6 billion per
year. Subtracting the total product cost from the selling price, the gross profit was
estimated to be $41.4 million per year. Taking depreciation and taxes from the gross
income, the net profit for vinyl chloride plant was estimated to be $26.2 million per year.

To analyze the profitability, the net present worth, pay out time, and rate of return was
evaluated. Assuming the project life is for twenty years, and interest rate to be five
percent, the net present value was estimated using equation 18. For a capacity of 6.4
billion pound per year, the net present worth of the plant was calculated to be $2.66
billion with a pay of time of 2 years. Thus, this project is considered to be profitable.

The rate of return can be found based on the following equation:

n
TCI = ∑ CFk (1 + r ) − k + (Vs + I w )(1 + r ) − n Eqn. (19)
k =1
TCI= total capital investment
CF= cash flow

35
 Vs= salvage value
R= rate of return

The rate of return on investment was determined using discounted cash flow method.
Using above equation the rate of return on investment for the capacity of 6.4 billion
pound per year was found to be 23.7%.

Table 26: Economic Uncertainties

Cost Uncertainties Percent
Total Equipment Cost +/-5
Total Capital Investment +/-10
Total Product Cost +/-15
Environment Cost +/-15

Table 26 estimates the uncertainties involved in calculating economics. The error

associated for equipment cost will most likely be contributed to human error, which is
likely to be (+/-) 5%. Since the total product cost is a function of total capital investment,
the error associated with this cost was (+/-) 15%.

Section 9: The Environmental Impact Effect on Profit

Traditionally, cost optimization has been the most important aspect of plant design,
however, due to an increase in environmental awareness, plant design should minimize or
completely eliminate the production of waste material. Designing a plant with minimal
environmental effects costs more money than merely designing a VCM plant with no
regard for the environment. In order to study the effects of environmental impact on the
profit, there must be a tool to quantify it. The Waste Reduction Algorithm (WAR)
algorithm is the tool employed to quantify the environmental impact. K.S. Telang of the
University of Louisiana developed the WAR algorithm in 1998. The WAR algorithm is
used to study the effects of environmental impact on profit.

The WAR algorithm is based on the pollution index methodology of the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA). This methodology defines pollution indices that can be used
to compare different plant designs. Variations in furnace temperature and variations in
oxygen and air usage will provide the different plant designs needed for comparison.
There will be a cost associated with each variation; this cost will be subtracted from the
amount of profit, calculated to be $27.5 million.

36
 190000

EI ( lb / Hr) 185000

180000

175000

170000

165000
-30.00 -20.00 -10.00 0.00 10.00 20.00 30.00
Profit (Million $)

Original Furnace Temperature Lower Furnace Temperature Higher Furnace Temperature

Figure 14: Profit vs. E.I. for three furnace temperatures

The first set of environmental impacts was calculated using a furnace temperature of
500oC; the furnace is the unit that cracks EDC into VCM. There are three areas that
oxygen can be used in order to lower the amount of nitrous oxide emissions, the
incineration unit, the furnace, and the combustion of methane for hot utility use. Each
area uses a different amount of natural gas in order to perform its function. The natural
gas combustion reaction produces carbon dioxide. However, if the oxygen used in the
combustion reaction comes from an air stream, nitrous oxides are also formed. The
environmental impact of these two pollutants can be assessed for each variation in design.
Thus, the amount of oxygen used and the temperature specified have a cost associated
with them, and this cost is the manipulated variable. The dependent variable is the
environmental impact. A graph can be produced from the environmental impact and the
cost associated with that environmental impact, which can be seen in Figure 14.

There are eight points that make up each line. These points are presented in table 23.
The values for the other temperatures can be seen in Appendix I.

Table 23: Environmental impact parameters

Oxygen Used
Incinerator Furnace Hot Utility O2 Cost ($/hr) Profit ($million) E.I.
- - - 0 27.5 186300
X - - 458 23.5 186000
- X - 1833 11.4 183000
X X - 2290 7.4 180500
- - X 2725 3.6 178000
X - X 3183 -0.4 175000
- X X 4558 -12.5 172300
X X X 5016 -16.5 170000

37
The points with the highest environmental impact, closer to the top of table 23, are
represented in figure 13 as the furthest points to the right. This data only represents the
original furnace temperature data.

In order to calculate the E.I. seen in table 23, the mass flow rates of all of the components
must be known, as well as their respective environmental impact potentials. The
environmental impact potentials include acidification factors, global warming potentials,
and ozone-depletion potentials. The equation used to calculate the E.I. can be seen
below.

I i = ∑ M (j i ) ∑ xkjψ k Eqn. (20)

j k

Where Ii is the total impact flow in the input or output, Mj is the mass flow rate of the
stream j, and xkj is the mass fraction of chemical k in that stream. Ψk is the characteristic
potential impact of chemical k. The total E.I. is in units of lb impact/time, which for this
case will be lb impact/hr.

The WAR algorithm is a tool used to quantify the E.I. of different designs. The design
variations include change in furnace temperature, and change in oxygen usage. These
changes in design do not produce enough change to implement them. This is due mainly
to the fact that the only potentially harmful compounds are carbon dioxide and nitrogen
oxides. They are emitted in abundance when fuel is gas is burned in the furnace,
incinerator, and for the hot utilities. The nitrogen oxides are essentially the component
that is being removed. As can be seen in the figure, a lot of capital is required per year,
which significantly reduces the amount of profit earned. It is not financially reasonable
to change the temperature in order to reduce the amount of environmental impact; it is
also not reasonable to increase the amount of oxygen used in the system. Another
method for reducing the amount of environmental impact is required.

Sequestering CO2 was evaluated in order to determine if it could be employed to reduce

the amount of environmental impact. Whereas variation in design, the method studied
previously, merely lowered the amount of emissions, sequestration will eliminate the
impact totally.

The idea behind sequestration is to help reduce increasing CO2 concentrations in the
atmosphere by placing them in into other mediums. Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) and
brine aquifers are two applications of sequestration. EOR is a process that pumps CO2
into an existing oil well, in order to increase production by increasing pressure. This
method has the advantage of being able to increase revenue by selling the CO2, but the
operating costs of liquefying, must be liquefied for transportation, are higher than the
revenue gained. This creates a need for another system for eliminating CO2 emissions
from our plant.

Brine aquifers are located beneath the shale layer of the earth. These layers are beneath
the oil reservoirs, and those are beneath the potable water layer. The depth of the brine

38
aquifer in Taft, LA is approximately 3100 ft. At this depth, the CO2 needs to be at a
pressure of 1000 psi at the wellhead, which will allow it to be the required 2000 psi when
it reaches the brine aquifer. The capital associated with sequestration is a function of
flow rate. The capital investment required for injected the CO2 emissions into the brine
aquifers is $11.4 million dollars. This will increase the total capital investment of the
plant to $26.7 million. The operating cost of this injection system is $116,000/yr. This
will not significantly reduce the total net profit of the project, as the profit is $26 million
dollars. This is most cost efficient method for disposing of CO2. The calculations are
shown in Appendix J.

Section 10: Conclusion

This project presents the design of a vinyl chloride plant with a capacity of 6.4 billion
pounds per year located in Taft, LA. The capacity of the plant is based on comparing
several different capacities’ return on investment and net present worth. Applying
different trends to the historical demand data allowed for the prediction of the capacities.
The vinyl chloride product is 99.8 mol% pure, this composition allows for polymer
feedstock applications. The total capital investment for the plant is $65.1 million. The
plant produces a total net profit of $27.5 million per year. Extensive Monte Carlo
simulations show that a 6.4 billion pound capacity has a 68% chance of having a positive
net present worth. A major focus of the design is to maximize safety and minimize
environmental impact while maintaining profitability. The VCM plant produces a
number of by-products resulting in eight waste streams. The Clean Air and Clean Water
Acts, enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency, regulate the procedure by which
we dispose of the different waste streams. An integrated waste treatment system utilizing
incineration, absorption, caustic scrubbing and activated carbon adsorption is developed
in order to avoid releasing any hazardous waste into the environment. The total capital
investment of the waste treatment system is $667,000. The increase in environmental
awareness increases the total equipment cost from $14.5 million to $15.28 million, and
decreases the total net profit per year to $26.2 million.

39
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25. Instruction Manual For Permit Application Forms, January 2001.

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33. http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/media/factsheets/lakecharlestext.htm

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43
 APPENDIX A
Table A1. Stream Definitions for P&ID figures
Stream Description Stream Description
HCl Feed to Oxy
S1 Ethylene S37 Reactor
S2 Chlorine S38 NaCl Solution
S3 Ethylene S39 Purified Water
S4 Oxygen S40 Vapor Waste
S5 DC Reactor Effluent S41 EDC Recycle
S6 Oxy Reactor Effluent S42 Incinerator Flue gas
S7 DC Product S43 Water
S8 Oxy Caustic Wash Effluent S44 CO2 + Cl2 + Nox
S9 Oxy Caustic Wash Effluent S45 Water & HCl
S10 Oxy Product S46 Caustic Solution
S11 Vent S47 Vapor Emissions
S12 Water S48 NaCl Solution
S13 Water Wash Vent S49 Furnace Feed Purge
S14 Water Decant S50 Cooling Water
S15 EDC Purification Feed S51 Cooling Water Return
S16 Light Ends S52 Cooling Water
S17 EDC minus light ends S53 Cooling Water Return
S18 Purified EDC S54 Caustic Solution
S19 Heavy Ends S55 NaCl Solution
S20 Purified EDC (vapor) S56 Caustic Solution
S21 Cracking Furnace Feed S57 NaCl Solution
S22 Furnace Effluent S58 Cooling Water
S23 Furnace Effluent Quech S59 Cooling Water Return
S24 Quench Bottoms S60 Steam
S25 Quench Product S61 Condensate
S26 Overhead Quench Product S62 Furnace Fuel
S27 Quench Bottoms S63 Cooling Water
S28 Quench Purge S64 Cooling Water Return
S29 Quench Recycle S65 Cooling Water
S30 VCM Purification Feed S66 Cooling Water Return
VCM Purification Feed
S31 (vapor) S67 Steam
VCM Purification Feed
S32 (liquid) S68 Condensate
S33 HCl Recycle S69 Steam
S34 VCM minus HCl S70 Condensate
S35 VCM Prdouct S71 Incinerator Fuel
S36 EDC Recycle

44
 Table A2. Equipment Definitions for P&ID figures

Tag
Number Equipment Equipment Description
PFTR, cooling fluid flowing shell side, ferric chloride
R-100 Direct Chlorination Reactor catalyst
PFTR, cooling fluid flowing shell side, cupric chloride
R-200 Oxychlorination Reactor catalyst
F-100 EDC Cracking Furnace furnace with tubes in radiation section

V-100 DC Caustic Scrubber HCL is absorbed by NaOH, random packing used

V-101 Oxy Caustic Scrubber HCL is absorbed by NaOH, random packing used
V-102 Oxy Flash Used to separate light impurities for the system
V-103 Furnace Feed Flash Vapor is charged to furnace, liquid recycled
V-104 Furnace Quench Flash 1 Quench Furnace effluent to prevent by product formation
V-105 Furnace Quench Flash 2 Quench Furnace effluent to prevent by product formation
Separates feed to liquid and vapor to utilize energy
V-106 HCl Column Feed Flash savings (3% reduction in reboiler duty)
V-107 Vent Flash Used to recover EDC from waste streams
V-108 HCl Absorber
V-109 Caustic Absorber Absorbers Cl2
V-110 HCl Storage Tank Stores the recycle HCl
V-111 Carbon Adsorption Column Removes impurities from the water streams
Flash used to remove water generated by oxy, before the
effluent is sent to the distillation columns. Removes water
V-112 Water Wash extractable impurities, i.e. chloral
17 theoretical trays, reflux ratio equal to 3, top tray
pressure of 185 psig with a 22 psig pressure drop. Dia 6.5
T-100 Lights Column ft H = 30ft

30 theoretical trays, reflux ratio of 1, top tray pressure of

T-101 Heavies Column 80 psig and has a 15 psig pressure drop.Dia 9 ft H = 56ft

42 trays and a top tray pressure of 135 psig with a

T-102 HCl Column column pressure drop of 10 psig. Dia 7.3 ft H = 80ft

20 trays, top tray pressure of 65 psig with a column

T-103 VCM Column pressure drop of 10 psig. Dia 6 ft H = 36ft
I-100 Waste Incinerator Burns by products
charge is heated to allow vapor feed to furnace, A = 2316
E-100 Furnace Preheater ft2
Quench Furnace effluent to prevent by product formation,
E-101 Furnace Effluent Cooler 1 A = 4411 ft2
Quench Furnace effluent to prevent by product formation,
E-102 Furnace Effluent Cooler 2 A = 5623 ft2
Oxy Reactor Effluent
E-104 Cooler Cools reactors effluent, A = 728 ft2

45
 APPENDIX B
B-1. Reactor Modeling Procedure

Direct Chlorination Reactor Model:

dFk
= νri At → dFk = νri At dz Eqn (7)
dz

From Wachi and Morikawa

C2H4 + Cl2→C2H4Cl2 Reaction 1
C2H4Cl2 + Cl2 → C2H3Cl3 + HCl Reaction 2

R1 = k1[C2H4][Cl2] where: k1 = 0.132m3mol-1s-1

R2 = k2[C2H4][Cl2]2 where: k2 = 0.0239 m6mol-2 s-1

Based on initial reactant parameters equation 7 is numerical integrated to find reactant

consumption and product formation. See attached Excel file “Direct Chlorination
Reactor” for the complete reactor model and corresponding data.

Oxychlorination Reactor Model:

Table B1 Oxychlorination Reactions

Set Reaction Stoichiometry

R-1 DCE formation C2H4 + 2CuCl2→ C2H4Cl2 + 2CuCl
R-2 TCE formation C2H4 + 3CuCl2→ C2H4Cl3 + 3CuCl +0.5H2
R-3 C2H4 combustion C2H4 + 3O2→ 2CO2 + 2H2O
R-4 CuCl oxidation 2CuCl + 0.5O2→ CuO-CuCl2→ CuO + CuCl2
R-5 CuCl2 regeneration CuO + 2HCl → CuCl2 + H2O

R1 = k1ρsp1S1 Where: kj = rate constant for reaction j (mol/m3 σ ΜΠα)

R2 = k2ρsp1S1 ρs = bulk density of catalyst support (kg/m3)
R3 = k3ρsp1p2 S = concentration of cupric chloride (mol/kg of the support)
R4 = k4ρsp2S2 pi = partial pressure of species i (MPa)
R5 = k5ρsp3S3

ki = Ai exp(-Ei/RT) where Ai = (Si)(ko)

46
 Table B2: Oxychlorination Kinetic Data (from Sai Prasad 2001)
Reaction Frequency Factor Ai Activation Energy Ei
(KJ/mol)
1 1.849E8 97.72E3
2 1.672E8 111.3E3
3 7.759E13 129.7E3
4 3.446E8 86.97E3
5 8.329E13 144.3E3

Based on initial reactant parameters equation 7 is numerical integrated to find reactant

consumption and product formation. Total pressure of reactor is 0.5 MPa, the density of
the cupric chloride catalyst is 100 kg/m3. See attached Excel file “Oxychlorination
Reactor” for the complete reactor model and corresponding data.

Nine by product formation reaction were modeled using kinetic data obtained from
Gel’Perin 1979, 1983, 1984.

Table B3: EDC Pyrolysis Kinetic Data

EDC Pyrolysis Reactions Log A Act. Energy
(L/mol s) (kcal/mol)
ClCH2CH2Cl ↔ C2H3Cl + HCl 13.6 58
C2H3Cl ↔ C2H2 + HCl 13.5 69
H· + HCl ↔ H2 + Cl· 9.7 3.2
Cl + C2H4 ↔ HCl + C2H3· 11 7
C2H3· + C2H2 ↔ C4H5· 8.8 4.7
C4H5· ↔ H· + C4H4 14 41.4
C4H5· + HCl ↔ C4H6 +Cl 9.9 1
C4H5· + C2H2 ↔ C6H7· 9.6 6.9
C6H7· ↔ c-C6H7· 11.5 8
c-C6H7· ↔ H + C6H6 14 15

Reaction of the EDC pyrolysis components was based on the following kinetic data and
used in a Pro II simulation to find the actual reactant consumption and product formation.

47
B-2. Pro II Simulations
Pro II simulations were performed for various design parameters for the entire process
minus the direct chlorination and oxychlorination reactors. The following table show
what the different attached simulation files contain.

Table B4 Pro II Simulations

Pro II Simulation File Name Description
Capacity of 1.98 billion lb/yr of VCM, oxygen based
2004-oxygen
oxychlorination
Capacity of 3 billion lb/yr of VCM, oxygen based
2005-oxygen
oxychlorination
Capacity of 4.09billion lb/yr of VCM, oxygen based
2006-oxygen
oxychlorination
Capacity of 5.23billion lb/yr of VCM, oxygen based
2007-oxygen
oxychlorination
Capacity of 6.44 billion lb/yr of VCM, oxygen based
2008-oxygen
oxychlorination
Capacity of 6.44 billion lb/yr of VCM, air based
2008-Air
oxychlorination
Capacity of 6.44 billion lb/yr of VCM, oxygen based
2008-low oxy oxychlorination, low oxychlorination reactor
temperature
Capacity of 6.44 billion lb/yr of VCM, oxygen based
2008-hign F T
oxychlorination, high furnace temperature
Capacity of 6.44 billion lb/yr of VCM, oxygen based
2008-low F T
oxychlorination, low furnace temperature
Capacity of 7.72 billion lb/yr of VCM, oxygen based
2009-oxygen
oxychlorination
Capacity of 9.08 billion lb/yr of VCM, oxygen based
20010-oxygen
oxychlorination
Capacity of 10.5 billion lb/yr of VCM, oxygen based
20011-oxygen
oxychlorination
Capacity of 12 billion lb/yr of VCM, oxygen based
20012-oxygen
oxychlorination

B-3. Heat Integration

The pinch method was used to find the minimum utilities for the entire plant. These
utilities include all heat exchangers, furnace, and the heavies columns condenser, HCl
column reboiler, and VCM column reboiler. The remaining equipment as not integrated
due to temperature constraints of the system. The stream data presented in Table 7 was
used to develop a table cascade diagram from this initial diagram the final cascade
diagram was constructed see Table 8. Figure B1 presents the grand composite curve for
the system. Figure B2 presents the optimal heat exchanger network.

48
 Grand Composite Curve

1000

900

800

700

600
Temperature (F)

500

400

300

200

100

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Duty (MMBtu/hr)

Figure B1: Grand Composite Curve

316 F
583 F C 243 F
3.42
MMBtu/hr
323 F H 321
1.32
MMBtu/hr
258 F C 85 F
71.4
MMBtu/hr
249 F C 20 F
83.18
MMBtu/hr
937 F H 304 F
307.3
MMBtu/hr
311 F 305 F

202 F 178 F

314 F
Figure B2. Optimal Network

49
B-4. Oxychlorination Fluidized Bed Reactor Design
Fluidized-bed reactors are vertical cylindrical vessels with internal equipment that allows
for adequate fluidization, heat removal, and feed distribution. Fluidization allow for
proper contact between the reactants and the catalyst. Controlling heat transfer is also an
advantage of fluidized-bed reactors. Typical operating temperatures are 220-245 oC and
operating pressures of 22-73 psig. Operating at these conditions allows for internal
equipment to be fabricated out of a corrosion resistant alloy while utilizing a carbon steel
shell. One problem dealing with fluidized-bed reactors is a phenomenon known as
catalyst stickiness. Catalyst stickiness is particle agglomeration, which is characterized
by declining fluidization quality that can result in a collapsed bed. Oxychlorination
catalyst stickiness is brought on by adverse operating conditions that promote the
formation of growths of cupric chloride in the surface on individual catalyst particles,
which leads to increasing inter-particle interactions and agglomeration (9). Stickiness
can be avoided by utilizing proper catalyst mixtures that exhibit proper fluidization
characteristics over a wide range of operating conditions (9)

50
 APPENDIX C
HAZOP

The complete HAZOP analysis is included next.

51
Section Item Intention Parameter Deviation Cause Consequence Safe guard Action
Reactor R-100 Designed for Inlet Flowrate No Leaking or blocking Release of toxic Sensor, alarm; flow Check the conditions of the
1 direct chlorination (stream 1 and in the inlet pipes chemicals (ethylene controller inlet pipes immediately. Shut
reaction. 2) and chlorine) to down the system after 15
environment, the min if there's no flow.
pipes might explode
at the blocking point.

More Increase in flowrate Increase pressure; Flow controller Adjust flow control. In case
of the streams mixer does not allows the maximum failure of the valve, shut
function properly; capacity of 95%, down the system.
might lead to pressure control
explosion; release of
toxic chemicals to
environment

Less Blocking or leaking Release of toxic Alarm, flow controller Alarm at 50% of normal
in the pipes chemicals (ethylene flow; Flow controller shut
and chlorine) to down the system if the flow
environment, the goes to 15%
pipes might explode
at the blocking point.

Reverse Blocking in outlet No achievement of Alarm, flow controller Immediately shut down the
stream, failure in products, pushing the system. Check the pipes
controls feed back, possible and equipments.
release chemicals to
environment.
Section Item Intention Parameter Deviation Cause Consequence Safe guard Action
1 Reactor R-100 Pressure Higher Increase in inlet Explosion; Release Pressure and level Adjust the controller; check
flowrate; decrease in of chemicals to control. the conditions of the system.
outlet flowrate (outlet environment.
blocking)

Temperature Higher Too much heat Products' Temperature Temperature controller.

transferred into the composition controller; Alarm Might consider composition
reactor; bad changes. Possible when temperature controller. Check the system
insulated walls; not explosion. Destroy goes over 200oC. and equipments. Shut down
enough cooling the reactor. Possible if can not find the reason and
water leaking of chemicals temperature is unstable.
to environment

Lower Heat is not provided Changing in Composition Adjust the controller, add
for the reactor composition of the controller; Alarm heat to the reactor. Shut
products. when temperature down if temperature keeps
goes under 70oC decreasing.
2 DC Caustic Remove aqueous Pressure Higher High inlet flowrate. Failed function. Don’t Alarm, Flow Don't run at high inlet
Scrubber waste, including Blocking of outlet have expected controller, Pressure flowrate. Check the
water and HCl streams. results. Possible Controller equipment periodically. Shut
leaking and down the system when
explosion. pressure goes too high.
Flow More High inlet flowrate. Failed function. Don’t Alarm, Flow Don't run at high inlet
Blocking of outlet have expected controller. flowrate. Check the
streams. results. Possible equipment periodically. Shut
leaking and down the system when
explosion. pressure goes too high.

No Blocking or Leaking; Release of chemicals Alarm when there's Checking the equipment
Running out of feed. to surrounding. an increase of toxic periodically. Check back the
Pressure build up at chemicals in vented feed. Shut down after 30
blocking region gas or waste liquid. minute of no flow.
Alarm when there's
no flow.
Reverse Blocking in outlet No achievement of Alarm, flow controller Immediately shut down the
stream, failure in products, pushing system. Check the pipes and
controls the feed back, equipments.
possible release
chemicals to
environment.

53
Section Item Intention Parameter Deviation Cause Consequence Safe guard Action
3 Reactor R-101 Designed for Inlet Flowrate No Leaking or blocking Release of toxic Sensor, alarm; flow Check the conditions of the
oxychlorination (stream 3 and in the inlet pipes chemicals (HCl, controller inlet pipes immediately. Shut
reaction 4) EDC, etc.) to down the system after 15
environment, the min if there's no flow.
pipes might explode
at the blocking point.
More Increase in flowrate Increase pressure; Flow controller Adjust flow control. In case
of the streams mixer malfunction allows the maximum failure of the valve, shut
properly; might lead capacity of 95%, down the system.
to explosion; release pressure control
of toxic chemicals to
environment
Less Blocking or leaking Release of toxic Alarm, flow controller Alarm at 50% of normal flow;
in the pipes chemicals (ethylene Flow controller shut down
and chlorine) to the system if the flow goes to
environment, the 15%
pipes might explode
at the blocking point.
Reverse Blocking in outlet No achievement of Alarm, flow controller Immediately shut down the
stream, failure in products, pushing system. Check the pipes and
controls the feed back, equipments.
possible release
chemicals to
environment.
Pressure Higher Increase in inlet Explosion; Release Pressure and level Adjust the controller; check
flowrate; decrease in of chemicals to control. the conditions of the system.
outlet flowrate (outlet environment.
blocking)
Temperature Higher Too much heat Products' composition Temperature sensor; Temperature controller.
transferred into the changes. Possible Alarm when Might consider composition
reactor; bad explosion. Destroy the temperature goes controller. Check the system
insulated walls reactor. Possible over 200oF. and equipments. Shut down
leaking of chemicals to if can not find the reason and
environment temperature is unstable.

Lower Heat is not provided Changing in Composition Adjust the controller, add
for the reactor composition of the controller; Alarm heat to the reactor. Shut
products. when temperature down if temperature keeps
goes under 70oC decreasing.

54
Section Item Intention Parameter Deviation Cause Consequence Safe guard Action
4 Oxy Caustic Remove Pressure Higher High inlet flowrate. Failed function. Pressure Don't run at high inlet
Scrubber V- aqueous waste Blocking of outlet Don’t have Controller , Alarm if flowrate. Check the
101 (hydrogen streams. Increase expected results. pressure goes over equipment periodically.
chloride) from in temperature Possible leaking 100 psig Shut down the system
the input stream and explosion. when pressure goes too
high.
Flow More High inlet flowrate. Failed function. Alarm, Flow Don't run at high inlet
Blocking of outlet Don’t have controller. flowrate. Check the
streams. expected results. equipment periodically.
Possible leaking Shut down the system
and explosion. when pressure goes too
high.
No Blocking or Release of Alarm when there's Checking the equipment
Leaking; Running chemicals to an increase of toxic periodically. Check back
out of feed. surrounding. chemicals in the feed. Shut down after
Pressure build up at vented gas or 30 minute of no flow.
blocking region waste liquid. Alarm
when there's no
flow.
Reverse Blocking in outlet No achievement of Alarm, flow Immediately shut down the
stream, failure in products, pushing controller, and level system. Check the pipes
controls the feed back, control should be and equipments.
possible release used.
chemicals to
environment.
Temperature Higher Affection from Changing expected Sensor, Choosing proper insulation
insulation's products. Might temperature material. Vented system.
condition. Increase lead to explosion control. Adjust immediately.
temperature of and leaking.
inlet stream

55
Section Item Intention Parameter Deviation Cause Consequence Safe guard Action
5 Heat Exchange heat Temperature Higher Decrease in Too much heat is Sensor, Check the temperature
Exchanger between hot cooling water added to the temperature and periodically, increase
E-104 streams and flowrate, Increase streams, cannot get flow control. cooling water flowrate if
cold streams. in CW's desired necessary
temperature temperature. Might
lead to burning.
Lower Too much cooling Might freeze some Sensor, Decrease flowrate of
water. of low boiling point temperature and cooling water. Check
chemicals; flow control. functions of the
therefore block the equipments.
pipes, cause
leaking and
breaking.
Oxy Flash V- Remove Pressure Higher High inlet flowrate. Failed function. Alarm, Flow Don't run at high inlet
102 aqueous waste, Blocking of outlet Don’t have controller, Pressure flowrate. Check the
including water streams. expected results. Controller equipment periodically.
and HCl Possible leaking Shut down the system
and explosion. when pressure goes too
high.
Flow More High inlet flowrate. Failed function. Alarm, Flow Don't run at high inlet
Blocking of outlet Don’t have controller. flowrate. Check the
streams. expected results. equipment periodically.
Possible leaking Shut down the system
and explosion. when pressure goes too
high.
No Blocking or Release of Alarm when there's Checking the equipment
Leaking; Running chemicals to an increase of toxic periodically. Check back
out of feed. surrounding. chemicals in the feed. Shut down after
Pressure build up at vented gas or 30 minute of no flow.
blocking region waste liquid. Alarm
when there's no
flow.

Reverse Blocking in outlet No achievement of Alarm, flow Immediately shut down the
stream, failure in products, pushing controller system. Check the pipes
controls the feed back, and equipments.
possible release
chemicals to
environment.

56
Section Item Intention Parameter Deviation Cause Consequence Safe guard Action
6 Column T- Separate EDC Flow Overfilled Outlet stream Column malfunction. Flow controller, Lower select switch. Shut
100 from byproducts. does not drain, Leaking: EDC and alarm when down if the outlet stream
Reflux Ratio =3, too much liquid toxic organic output flow rate does not drain. Check pipe
185 psig, 22 psig coming back to compounds. Harmful goes under 70% conditions for blocking
pressure drop column, to people. set point
Reflux Ratio Decreased Changing in Cannot get expected Flow controller Check with the controller to
outlet conditions. separation. see if there's anything
Failure of valve wrong.
system.
Vapor Flow More More heat added Foaming Entrainment Composition and Balance the heat duty of
to reboiler. Weeping/Dumping; flow controller. condenser and reboiler.
Flooding. Reduce
efficiency.
Reboiler Temperature Too high Too much input Build up pressure Temperature Reduce heat to design
energy inside the reboiler. controller. level. Shut down if the
Might lead to reboiler is not working
explosion. Release of properly. Might use dual-
chemical to reboiler option to keep the
environment. system working.
Compressor Compress the Pressure Higher Flowrate is Can lead to Pressure control Decrease the inlet flowrate.
liquid and vapor increased, explosion. Release of on the column, In case malfunctioning of
stream temperature chemicals to flow control the equipment, shut down
increased. environment. the system.
6 Compressor Temperature Higher Energy input Pressure build up, Temperature Keep the temperature of
changes, lead to explosion and control. the compressor at proper
temperature of consequences. temperature.
feed increases.
7 EDC Crack the EDC. Temperature Higher Too much fuel Cannot get desired Flow controller, Check the flowrate; change
Cracking Yields vinyl supplied to the products; pressure alarm when fuel set point if necessary,
Furnace, chloride and HCl furnace, inlet build up, lead to flow rate is 20% check pipes/ equipment
F100 flowrate explosion, releases more than set function. Shut down if
decreases of chemicals. point temperature is too high.
Lower Not enough heat Effect the conversion Flow controller. Check valves, set point,
provided; inlet of product alarm when fuel pipes, increase fuel flow or
flowrate is too flow rate is 20% decrease inlet flow
high lower than set
point
8 Tank V110 Store and Level Overfilled Too much flow in, Build up pressure, Level controller, Check pipes, valves'
recycle hydrogen blocking in outlet lead to explosion, alarm when tank conditions. Decrease the
chloride pipe, valve release toxic is filled up to 95% inlet flowrate.
malfunctioning chemical capacity

57
 APPENDIX D
By-Product Treatment

Auxiliary Fuel Flowrate (QF)

The following equation is an energy balance over the incineration unit (2). It equates the
amount of heat provided by the fuel to the amount of heat required for combustion of the
waste streams. This equation allows for the amount of auxiliary fuel to be calculated.

Qf = Qw (X/Y) where,

X = 1.1Cpo(Tc – Tr) – Cpi(Ti – Tr) – hw

Y = hf – 1.1Cpo(Tc-Tr) where,

Cpo = mean heat capacity of exhaust stream

Tc = combustion temperature
Tr = reference temperature (usually S.T.P.)
Cpi = mean heat capacity of inlet streams
Ti = temperature of inlet waste streams
hw = heat content of waste streams
hf = heat content of fuel

Amount of Solvent (L)

The following equation is a material balance on the solute over the whole absorption
column. This equation allows for the amount of liquid solvent to be calculated.

L = G*(Yi – Yo)/(Xo – Xi) where,

G = vapor flowrate
Yi = amount of pollutant per amount of pollutant free vapor entering the column
Yo = amount of pollutant per amount of pollutant free vapor leaving the column
Xi = amount of pollutant per amount of pollutant free solvent entering the column
Xo = amount of pollutant per amount of pollutant free solvent leaving the column

Column Diameter (DT)

The following equation is a manipulation of this continuity equation: Flowrate =
velocity*Flow Area*Density. This equation allows for the column diameter to be
calculated.
4VM v
DT = where,
fU f π (1 − Ad / A) ρ v

V = vapor flowrate
Mv = molecular weight of vapor
f = fraction of flooding
Uf = flooding velocity
Ad/A = area occupied by the downcomer over the cross sectional area of the column
pv = vapor density

Overall Height of Transfer Unit (HOG)

The following equation is a manipulation of a differential material balance for the solute
over a differential height of packing. This equation allows for the overall height of a
transfer unit to be calculated.

HOG = G/KyaS where,

G = vapor flowrate
Kya = overall gas mass transfer coefficient
S = overall cross sectional area of the column

Number of Theoretical Stages (NOG)

The following equation is also a manipulation of a differential material balance for the
solute over a differential height of packing. This equation allows for the number of
theoretical stages to be calculated.
ln{[( A − 1) / A][(Yi − KX i ) /(YO − KX i )] + (1 / A)}
N OG = where,
( A − 1) / A
A = absorption factor
Yi = amount of pollutant per amount of pollutant free vapor entering the column
Yo = amount of pollutant per amount of pollutant free vapor leaving the column
Xi = amount of pollutant per amount of pollutant free solvent entering the column
Xo = amount of pollutant per amount of pollutant free solvent leaving the column
K = equilibrium constant

Height of Packing (Hpack)

The following equation is used to determine the height of packing.

Hpack = NOG*(HOG)

59
 APPENDIX E
Calculations for Carbon Adsorption Tower
Equations for the design of activated carbon adsorption tower
1. Minimum amount of carbon in the mass bed

1
X
= Kc n
M

X = amount of carbon adsorbed (mg)

M = mass of carbon (g)
c = equilibrium concentration in solution after desorption (mg/L)
K = Freundlich constant
n = Freundlich number

2. Volume of the granular activated carbon bed

M
V =
AD × .85

V = Volume of granulated activated carbon bed (ft3)

AD = Apparent density of carbon (lb/ft3)
M = Mass of carbon (lbs)

3. Equilibrium saturation ( maximum usable life of the carbon)

M ×L
D=
MR
D = Equilibrium saturation (days)
M = Mass of carbon bed (lbs)
L = Loading (lb organic/lb carbon)
MR = Mass flow rate of contaminants (lbs/day)

4. Hydraulic loading
VF
HL =
A
HL = Hydraulic loading (gpm/ft2)
VF = Volumetric flow rate of water (gpm)
A = Area (ft2)

5. Superficial contact time

V
CT =
VF
CT = Superficial contact time (min)
V = Volume (gallons)
VF = Volumetric flow rate (gpm)

60
 APPENDIX F
Economic Analysis Plant Capacity of 4.09 billion lb VCM/yr

Table F1: Cash flow for the first year 2004

Summary of Annual Costs along with the Total Product Cost (2004)
Working Capital $7,378,262
Fix Capital Investment ($) $36,891,312
Total Capital Investment ($) $47,110,219
Manufacturing Cost Assumption $/yr
Direct Product Cost Assumption $/yr
1 Raw Materials Ethylene, Chlorine, Oxygen, Hydrochloride 441,621,989
2 Operating Labor 5,137,000
3 Utilitites
Hot Utility $3/MMBTU heating, 285 MMBTU/hr 5,952,438
Cold Utility $0.5/MMBTU/cooling, 137.7 MMBTU/hr 458,836
4 Maintenance and Repair 2% of Fixed Capital Investment 737,826
5 Operating Supplies 9% of Cost for Maintenance and Repair 110,674
Sub Total 454,018,763
Fix Charges Assumption $/yr
1 Capital Cost or Depreciation 5% of Fix Capital Investment 2,053,120
2 Local Taxes 1% of Fix Capital Investment 368,913
3 Insurance 0.8% of Fix Capital Investment 295,130
Sub Total 2,717,163
Overhead Costs 50% of Operating Labor, Supervision & 2,054,800
Maintenance
Manufacturing Cost Direct Product Cost+Fix Charges+Overhead Cost 458,790,727

General Expenses Assumption $/yr

1 Administration Costs 15% of the operating labor 770,550
2 Distribution and Selling Costs 0.1% Direct production cost 454,019
Sub Total 1,224,569

Total Product Cost ( C ) Manufacturing Cost+ General Expenses 460,015,295

Gross Income
Assumptions $/yr
1 Selling Price of Vinyl Chloride $0.25/lb, 4510 lb-mol/hr, 24 hr/day, 365 days/yr 467,949,440
Gross Income (G) Selling Price - Total Production Cost 7,934,144
Net Profit (P)
Assumption dollars ($)
1 Depreciation (D) Sinking-fund depreciation, Salvage value 5% of FCI 1,059,904
2 Net Profit (P) G-D-(G-D)*tax 4,536,998
3 Annual Cash Flow Cash flow for the first year 5,596,903

61
 Table F2: Cash flow for the second year (2005)

Summary of Annual Costs along with the Total Product Cost (2005)
Working Capital $7,378,262
Fix Capital Investment ($) $36,891,312
Total Capital Investment ($) $47,110,219
Manufacturing Cost Assumption $/yr
Direct Product Cost Assumption $/yr
1 Raw Materials Ethylene, Chlorine, Oxygen, Hydrochloride 695,483,017
2 Operating Labor 5,137,000
3 Utilitites
Hot Utility $3/MMBTU heating, 285 MMBTU/hr 9,049,413
Cold Utility $0.5/MMBTU/cooling, 137.7 MMBTU/hr 697,520
4 Maintenance and Repair 2% of Fixed Capital Investment 737,826
5 Operating Supplies 9% of Cost for Maintenance and Repair 110,674
Sub Total 711,215,450
Fix Charges Assumption $/yr
1 Capital Cost or Depreciation 5% of Fix Capital Investment 2,053,120
2 Local Taxes 1% of Fix Capital Investment 368,913
3 Insurance 0.8% of Fix Capital Investment 295,130
Sub Total 2,717,163
Overhead Costs 50% of Operating Labor, Supervision & 2,054,800
Maintenance
Manufacturing Cost Direct Product Cost+Fix Charges+Overhead Cost 715,987,413

General Expenses Assumption $/yr

1 Administration Costs 15% of the operating labor 770,550
2 Distribution and Selling Costs 0.1% Direct production cost 711,215
Sub Total 1,481,765

Total Product Cost ( C ) Manufacturing Cost+ General Expenses 717,469,178

Gross Income
Assumptions $/yr
1 Selling Price of Vinyl Chloride $0.25/lb, 4510 lb-mol/hr, 24 hr/day, 365 days/yr 727,307,700
Gross Income (G) Selling Price - Total Production Cost 9,838,522
Net Profit (P)
Assumption dollars ($)
1 Depreciation (D) Sinking-fund depreciation, Salvage value 5% of FCI 1,059,904
2 Net Profit (P) G-D-(G-D)*tax 5,793,888
3 Annual Cash Flow Cash flow for the first year 6,853,792

62
 Table F3: Cash flow of the maximum capacity (2006)

Summary of Annual Costs along with the Total Product Cost (2006)
Working Capital $7,378,262
Fix Capital Investment ($) $36,891,312
Total Capital Investment ($) $47,110,219
Manufacturing Cost Assumption $/yr
Direct Product Cost Assumption $/yr
1 Raw Materials Ethylene, Chlorine, Oxygen, Hydrochloride 938,435,745
2 Operating Labor 5,137,000
3 Utilitites
Hot Utility $3/MMBTU heating, 285 MMBTU/hr 12,283,800
Cold Utility $0.5/MMBTU/cooling, 137.7 MMBTU/hr 947,726
4 Maintenance and Repair 2% of Fixed Capital Investment 737,826
5 Operating Supplies 9% of Cost for Maintenance and Repair 110,674
Sub Total 957,652,771
Fix Charges Assumption $/yr
1 Capital Cost or Depreciation 5% of Fix Capital Investment 2,053,120
2 Local Taxes 1% of Fix Capital Investment 368,913
3 Insurance 0.8% of Fix Capital Investment 295,130
Sub Total 2,717,163
Overhead Costs 50% of Operating Labor, Supervision & 2,054,800
Maintenance
Manufacturing Cost Direct Product Cost+Fix Charges+Overhead Cost 962,424,735

General Expenses Assumption $/yr

1 Administration Costs 15% of the operating labor 770,550
2 Distribution and Selling Costs 0.1% Direct production cost 957,653
Sub Total 1,728,203

Total Product Cost ( C ) Manufacturing Cost+ General Expenses 964,152,937

Gross Income
Assumptions $/yr
1 Selling Price of Vinyl Chloride $0.25/lb, 4510 lb-mol/hr, 24 hr/day, 365 days/yr 982,302,700
Gross Income (G) Selling Price - Total Production Cost 18,149,763
Net Profit (P)
Assumption dollars ($)
1 Depreciation (D) Sinking-fund depreciation, Salvage value 5% of FCI 1,059,904
2 Net Profit (P) G-D-(G-D)*tax 11,279,307
3 Annual Cash Flow Cash flow for the first year 12,339,211

63
 Table F4: NPW and ROI
k
n Year Cash Flow NPW ($) CFk/(1+r)
1 2004 5.597E+06 5.330E+06 1.34E+08 4530496
2 2005 6.854E+06 6.217E+06 4490833
3 2006 1.234E+07 1.066E+07 6544574
4 2007 1.271E+07 1.046E+07 5456531
5 2008 1.309E+07 1.026E+07 4549376
6 2009 1.348E+07 1.006E+07 3793037
7 2010 1.389E+07 9.870E+06 3162440
8 2011 1.430E+07 9.682E+06 2636681
9 2012 1.473E+07 9.497E+06 2198329
10 2013 1.518E+07 9.317E+06 1832854
11 2014 1.563E+07 9.139E+06 1528140
12 2015 1.610E+07 8.965E+06 1274085
13 2016 1.658E+07 8.794E+06 1062267
14 2017 1.708E+07 8.627E+06 885663.8
15 2018 1.759E+07 8.462E+06 738421.1
16 2019 1.812E+07 8.301E+06 615657.7
17 2020 1.866E+07 8.143E+06 513303.9
18 2021 1.922E+07 7.988E+06 427966.5
19 2022 1.980E+07 7.836E+06 356816.6
20 2023 2.039E+07 7.687E+06 297495.4

Inflaction 0.03 TCI 47110219

Interest rate 0.05
ROI 0.2353841

64
 APPENDIX G
Economic Analysis Plant Capacity 6.44 billion lb/yr.

Table G1: Cash flow of 2004

Summary of Annual Costs along with the Total Product Cost (2004)
Working Capital $11,007,612
Fix Capital Investment ($) $55,038,060
Total Capital Investment ($) $68,886,317
Manufacturing Cost Assumption $/yr
Direct Product Cost Assumption $/yr
1 Raw Materials Ethylene, Chlorine, Oxygen, Hydrochloride 441,621,989
2 Operating Labor 5,137,000
3 Utilitites
Hot Utility $3/MMBTU heating, 285 MMBTU/hr 5,952,438
Cold Utility $0.5/MMBTU/cooling, 137.7 MMBTU/hr 458,836
4 Maintenance and Repair 2% of Fixed Capital Investment 1,100,761
5 Operating Supplies 9% of Cost for Maintenance and Repair 165,114
Sub Total 454,436,139
Fix Charges Assumption $/yr
1 Capital Cost or Depreciation 5% of Fix Capital Investment 3,063,044
2 Local Taxes 1% of Fix Capital Investment 550,381
3 Insurance 0.8% of Fix Capital Investment 440,304
Sub Total 4,053,729
Overhead Costs 50% of Operating Labor, Supervision & 2,054,800
Maintenance
Manufacturing Cost Direct Product Cost+Fix Charges+Overhead Cost 460,544,668

General Expenses Assumption $/yr

1 Administration Costs 15% of the operating labor 770,550
2 Distribution and Selling Costs 0.1% Direct production cost 454,436
Sub Total 1,224,986

Total Product Cost ( C ) Manufacturing Cost+ General Expenses 461,769,654

Gross Income
Assumptions $/yr
1 Selling Price of Vinyl Chloride $0.25/lb, 4510 lb-mol/hr, 24 hr/day, 365 days/yr 467,949,440
Gross Income (G) Selling Price - Total Production Cost 6,179,785
Net Profit (P)
Assumption dollars ($)
1 Depreciation (D) Sinking-fund depreciation, Salvage value 5% of FCI 1,581,269
2 Net Profit (P) G-D-(G-D)*tax 3,035,021
3 Annual Cash Flow Cash flow for the first year 4,616,290

65
 Table G2: Cash flow of 2005

Summary of Annual Costs along with the Total Product Cost (2005)

Fix Capital Investment ($) $55,038,060

Total Capital Investment ($) $68,886,317
Manufacturing Cost Assumption $/yr
Direct Product Cost Assumption $/yr
1 Raw Materials Ethylene, Chlorine, Oxygen, Hydrochloride 695,483,017
2 Operating Labor 5,137,000
3 Utilitites
Hot Utility $3/MMBTU heating, 285 MMBTU/hr 9,049,413
Cold Utility $0.5/MMBTU/cooling, 137.7 MMBTU/hr 697,520
4 Maintenance and Repair 2% of Fixed Capital Investment 1,100,761
5 Operating Supplies 9% of Cost for Maintenance and Repair 165,114
Sub Total 711,632,825
Fix Charges Assumption $/yr
1 Capital Cost or Depreciation 5% of Fix Capital Investment 3,063,044
2 Local Taxes 1% of Fix Capital Investment 550,381
3 Insurance 0.8% of Fix Capital Investment 440,304
Sub Total 4,053,729
Overhead Costs 50% of Operating Labor, Supervision & 2,054,800
Maintenance
Manufacturing Cost Direct Product Cost+Fix Charges+Overhead Cost 717,741,354

General Expenses Assumption $/yr

1 Administration Costs 15% of the operating labor 770,550
2 Distribution and Selling Costs 0.1% Direct production cost 711,633
Sub Total 1,482,183

Total Product Cost ( C ) Manufacturing Cost+ General Expenses 719,223,537

Gross Income
Assumptions $/yr
1 Selling Price of Vinyl Chloride $0.25/lb, 4510 lb-mol/hr, 24 hr/day, 365 days/yr 727,307,700
Gross Income (G) Selling Price - Total Production Cost 8,084,163
Net Profit (P)
Assumption dollars ($)
1 Depreciation (D) Sinking-fund depreciation, Salvage value 5% of FCI 1,581,269
2 Net Profit (P) G-D-(G-D)*tax 4,291,910
3 Annual Cash Flow Cash flow for the first year 5,873,179

66
 Table G3: Cash Flow of 2006

Summary of Annual Costs along with the Total Product Cost (2006)

Fix Capital Investment ($) $55,038,060

Total Capital Investment ($) $68,886,317
Manufacturing Cost Assumption $/yr
Direct Product Cost Assumption $/yr
1 Raw Materials Ethylene, Chlorine, Oxygen, Hydrochloride 938,435,745
2 Operating Labor 5,137,000
3 Utilitites
Hot Utility $3/MMBTU heating, 285 MMBTU/hr 12,283,800
Cold Utility $0.5/MMBTU/cooling, 137.7 MMBTU/hr 947,726
4 Maintenance and Repair 2% of Fixed Capital Investment 1,100,761
5 Operating Supplies 9% of Cost for Maintenance and Repair 165,114
Sub Total 958,070,147
Fix Charges Assumption $/yr
1 Capital Cost or Depreciation 5% of Fix Capital Investment 3,063,044
2 Local Taxes 1% of Fix Capital Investment 550,381
3 Insurance 0.8% of Fix Capital Investment 440,304
Sub Total 4,053,729
Overhead Costs 50% of Operating Labor, Supervision & 2,054,800
Maintenance
Manufacturing Cost Direct Product Cost+Fix Charges+Overhead Cost 964,178,676

General Expenses Assumption $/yr

1 Administration Costs 15% of the operating labor 770,550
2 Distribution and Selling Costs 0.1% Direct production cost 958,070
Sub Total 1,728,620

Total Product Cost ( C ) Manufacturing Cost+ General Expenses 965,907,296

Gross Income
Assumptions $/yr
1 Selling Price of Vinyl Chloride $0.25/lb, 4510 lb-mol/hr, 24 hr/day, 365 days/yr 982,302,700
Gross Income (G) Selling Price - Total Production Cost 16,395,404
Net Profit (P)
Assumption dollars ($)
1 Depreciation (D) Sinking-fund depreciation, Salvage value 5% of FCI 1,581,269
2 Net Profit (P) G-D-(G-D)*tax 9,777,330
3 Annual Cash Flow Cash flow for the first year 11,358,598

67
 Table G4: Cash flow of 2007

Summary of Annual Costs along with the Total Product Cost (2007)

Fix Capital Investment ($) $55,038,060

Total Capital Investment ($) $68,886,317
Manufacturing Cost Assumption $/yr
Direct Product Cost Assumption $/yr
1 Raw Materials Ethylene, Chlorine, Oxygen, Hydrochloride 1,254,711,587
2 Operating Labor 5,137,000
3 Utilitites
Hot Utility $3/MMBTU heating, 285 MMBTU/hr 15,724,513
Cold Utility $0.5/MMBTU/cooling, 137.7 MMBTU/hr 1,211,891
4 Maintenance and Repair 2% of Fixed Capital Investment 1,100,761
5 Operating Supplies 9% of Cost for Maintenance and Repair 165,114
Sub Total 1,278,050,866
Fix Charges Assumption $/yr
1 Capital Cost or Depreciation 5% of Fix Capital Investment 3,063,044
2 Local Taxes 1% of Fix Capital Investment 550,381
3 Insurance 0.8% of Fix Capital Investment 440,304
Sub Total 4,053,729
Overhead Costs 50% of Operating Labor, Supervision & 2,054,800
Maintenance
Manufacturing Cost Direct Product Cost+Fix Charges+Overhead Cost 1,284,159,396

General Expenses Assumption $/yr

1 Administration Costs 15% of the operating labor 770,550
2 Distribution and Selling Costs 0.1% Direct production cost 1,278,051
Sub Total 2,048,601

Total Product Cost ( C ) Manufacturing Cost+ General Expenses 1,286,207,997

Gross Income
Assumptions $/yr
1 Selling Price of Vinyl Chloride $0.25/lb, 4510 lb-mol/hr, 24 hr/day, 365 days/yr 1,292,983,501
Gross Income (G) Selling Price - Total Production Cost 6,775,504
Net Profit (P)
Assumption dollars ($)
1 Depreciation (D) Sinking-fund depreciation, Salvage value 5% of FCI 1,581,269
2 Net Profit (P) G-D-(G-D)*tax 3,428,196
3 Annual Cash Flow Cash flow for the first year 5,009,464

68
 Table G5: Cash flow of 2008

Summary of Annual Costs along with the Total Product Cost (2008)
Working Capital $11,007,612
Fix Capital Investment ($) $55,038,060
Total Capital Investment ($) $68,886,317
Manufacturing Cost Assumption $/yr
Direct Product Cost Assumption $/yr
1 Raw Materials Ethylene, Chlorine, Oxygen 1,552,281,040
2 Operating Labor 5,137,000
3 Utilitites
Hot Utility $3/MMBTU heating, 930 MMBTU/hr 19,154,400
Cold Utility $0.5/MMBTU/cooling, 448 MMBTU/hr 1,492,378
4 Maintenance and Repair 2% of Fixed Capital Investment 1,100,761
5 Operating Supplies 15% of Cost for Maintenance and Repair 165,114
Sub Total 1,579,330,693
Fix Charges Assumption $/yr
1 Capital Cost or Depreciation 5% of Fix Capital Investment 3,063,044
2 Local Taxes 1% of Fix Capital Investment 550,381
3 Insurance 0.8% of Fix Capital Investment 440,304
Sub Total 4,053,729
Overhead Costs 40% of Operating Labor, Supervision & 2,054,800
Maintenance
Manufacturing Cost Direct Product Cost+Fix Charges+Overhead Cost 1,585,439,222

General Expenses Assumption $/yr

1 Administration Costs 15% of the operating labor 770,550
2 Distribution and Selling Costs 0.1% Direct production cost 1,579,331
Sub Total 2,349,881

Total Product Cost ( C ) Manufacturing Cost+ General Expenses 1,587,789,103

Table 4: Gross Income
Assumptions $/yr
1 Selling Price of Vinyl Chloride $0.25/lb, 4510 lb-mol/hr, 24 hr/day, 365 days/yr 1,631,006,997
Gross Income (G) Selling Price - Total Production Cost 43,217,894
Table 5: Net Profit (P)
Assumption dollars ($)
1 Depreciation (D) Sinking-fund depreciation, Salvage value 5% of FCI 1,581,269
2 Net Profit (P) G-D-(G-D)*tax 27,480,173
Annual Cash Flow Cash flow for the first year 29,061,441
3 Net Present Worth (NPW) Function of cash flow, TCI, working capital 279,700,274
5 Paid Out Time (POT) FCI-Salvage value/Average Cash Flow 1.71
6 Rate of Return (ROI) Cash flow method 0.252

69
 Table G6: NPW and ROI
n Year Cash Flow NPW ($) CFk/(1+r)k
1 2004 4.616E+06 4.396E+06 2.80E+08 3686482.002
2 2005 5.873E+06 5.327E+06 3745513.512
3 2006 1.136E+07 9.812E+06 5784714.459
4 2007 5.009E+06 4.121E+06 2037358.825
5 2008 2.906E+07 2.277E+07 9438706.087
6 2009 2.993E+07 2.234E+07 7763700.079
7 2010 3.083E+07 2.191E+07 6385942.984
8 2011 3.176E+07 2.149E+07 5252684.594
9 2012 3.271E+07 2.108E+07 4320535.825
10 2013 3.369E+07 2.068E+07 3553807.484
11 2014 3.470E+07 2.029E+07 2923143.828
12 2015 3.574E+07 1.990E+07 2404398.628
13 2016 3.681E+07 1.952E+07 1977710.678
14 2017 3.792E+07 1.915E+07 1626743.37
15 2018 3.906E+07 1.879E+07 1338059.212
16 2019 4.023E+07 1.843E+07 1100605.35
17 2020 4.143E+07 1.808E+07 905290.382
18 2021 4.268E+07 1.773E+07 744636.2822
19 2022 4.396E+07 1.740E+07 612492.0842
20 2023 4.528E+07 1.706E+07 503798.3807

Table G7: ROI

Inflaction 0.03 TCI 244965.18
Interest rate 0.05
ROI 0.2522209

Table G8: Probability

NPW Probability
($) 10.5 billon (lb/yr) 6.44 billion (lb/yr) 4.09 billion (lb/yr)
-4.5E+09 0.001014199
-4E+09 0
-3.5E+09 0.004056795
-3E+09 0.00811359
-2.5E+09 0.015212982 0 0
-2E+09 0.030425963 0.002024291 0
-1.5E+09 0.053752535 0.010121457 0.004016064
-1E+09 0.067951318 0.045546559 0.052208835
-5E+08 0.115618661 0.153846154 0.253815261
0 0.130831643 0.26417004 0.300200803
500000000 0.15010142 0.287449393 0.264257028
1E+09 0.144016227 0.153846154 0.115461847
1.5E+09 0.105476673 0.064777328 0.009036145
2E+09 0.074036511 0.018218623 0.001004016
2.5E+09 0.043610548 0 0
3E+09 0.036511156
3.5E+09 0.010141988
4E+09 0.006085193
4.5E+09 3 0.003042596

70
 APPENDIX H
Economic Analysis Plant Capacity of 10.5 billion lb VCM/year
Table H1: Cash flow of 2004

Summary of Annual Costs along with the Total Product Cost (2004)
Working Capital $12,385,708
Fix Capital Investment ($) $61,928,539
Total Capital Investment ($) $77,154,892
Manufacturing Cost Assumption $/yr
Direct Product Cost Assumption $/yr
1 Raw Materials Ethylene, Chlorine, Oxygen, Hydrochloride 441,621,989
2 Operating Labor 5,137,000
3 Utilitites
Hot Utility $3/MMBTU heating, 285 MMBTU/hr 5,952,438
Cold Utility $0.5/MMBTU/cooling, 137.7 MMBTU/hr 458,836
4 Maintenance and Repair 2% of Fixed Capital Investment 1,238,571
5 Operating Supplies 9% of Cost for Maintenance and Repair 185,786
Sub Total 454,594,620
Fix Charges Assumption $/yr
1 Capital Cost or Depreciation 5% of Fix Capital Investment 3,446,522
2 Local Taxes 1% of Fix Capital Investment 619,285
3 Insurance 0.8% of Fix Capital Investment 495,428
Sub Total 4,561,235
Overhead Costs 50% of Operating Labor, Supervision & 2,054,800
Maintenance
Manufacturing Cost Direct Product Cost+Fix Charges+Overhead Cost 461,210,655

General Expenses Assumption $/yr

1 Administration Costs 15% of the operating labor 770,550
2 Distribution and Selling Costs 0.1% Direct production cost 454,595
Sub Total 1,225,145

Total Product Cost ( C ) Manufacturing Cost+ General Expenses 462,435,799

Gross Income
Assumptions $/yr
1 Selling Price of Vinyl Chloride $0.25/lb, 4510 lb-mol/hr, 24 hr/day, 365 days/yr 467,949,440
Gross Income (G) Selling Price - Total Production Cost 5,513,640
Net Profit (P)
Assumption dollars ($)
1 Depreciation (D) Sinking-fund depreciation, Salvage value 5% of FCI 1,779,235
2 Net Profit (P) G-D-(G-D)*tax 2,464,707
3 Annual Cash Flow Cash flow for the first year 4,243,942

71
 Table H2: Cash flow of 2005

Summary of Annual Costs along with the Total Product Cost (2005)

Fix Capital Investment ($) $61,928,539

Total Capital Investment ($) $77,154,892
Manufacturing Cost Assumption $/yr
Direct Product Cost Assumption $/yr
1 Raw Materials Ethylene, Chlorine, Oxygen, Hydrochloride 695,483,017
2 Operating Labor 5,137,000
3 Utilitites
Hot Utility $3/MMBTU heating, 285 MMBTU/hr 9,049,413
Cold Utility $0.5/MMBTU/cooling, 137.7 MMBTU/hr 697,520
4 Maintenance and Repair 2% of Fixed Capital Investment 1,238,571
5 Operating Supplies 9% of Cost for Maintenance and Repair 185,786
Sub Total 711,791,306
Fix Charges Assumption $/yr
1 Capital Cost or Depreciation 5% of Fix Capital Investment 3,446,522
2 Local Taxes 1% of Fix Capital Investment 619,285
3 Insurance 0.8% of Fix Capital Investment 495,428
Sub Total 4,561,235
Overhead Costs 50% of Operating Labor, Supervision & 2,054,800
Maintenance
Manufacturing Cost Direct Product Cost+Fix Charges+Overhead Cost 718,407,341

General Expenses Assumption $/yr

1 Administration Costs 15% of the operating labor 770,550
2 Distribution and Selling Costs 0.1% Direct production cost 711,791
Sub Total 1,482,341

Total Product Cost ( C ) Manufacturing Cost+ General Expenses 719,889,682

Gross Income
Assumptions $/yr
1 Selling Price of Vinyl Chloride $0.25/lb, 4510 lb-mol/hr, 24 hr/day, 365 days/yr 727,307,700
Gross Income (G) Selling Price - Total Production Cost 7,418,018
Net Profit (P)
Assumption dollars ($)
1 Depreciation (D) Sinking-fund depreciation, Salvage value 5% of FCI 1,779,235
2 Net Profit (P) G-D-(G-D)*tax 3,721,597
3 Annual Cash Flow Cash flow for the first year 5,500,832

72
 Table H3: Cash flow of 2006

Summary of Annual Costs along with the Total Product Cost (2006)

Fix Capital Investment ($) $61,928,539

Total Capital Investment ($) $77,154,892
Manufacturing Cost Assumption $/yr
Direct Product Cost Assumption $/yr
1 Raw Materials Ethylene, Chlorine, Oxygen, Hydrochloride 938,435,745
2 Operating Labor 5,137,000
3 Utilitites
Hot Utility $3/MMBTU heating, 285 MMBTU/hr 12,283,800
Cold Utility $0.5/MMBTU/cooling, 137.7 MMBTU/hr 947,726
4 Maintenance and Repair 2% of Fixed Capital Investment 1,238,571
5 Operating Supplies 9% of Cost for Maintenance and Repair 185,786
Sub Total 958,228,628
Fix Charges Assumption $/yr
1 Capital Cost or Depreciation 5% of Fix Capital Investment 3,446,522
2 Local Taxes 1% of Fix Capital Investment 619,285
3 Insurance 0.8% of Fix Capital Investment 495,428
Sub Total 4,561,235
Overhead Costs 50% of Operating Labor, Supervision & 2,054,800
Maintenance
Manufacturing Cost Direct Product Cost+Fix Charges+Overhead Cost 964,844,663

General Expenses Assumption $/yr

1 Administration Costs 15% of the operating labor 770,550
2 Distribution and Selling Costs 0.1% Direct production cost 958,229
Sub Total 1,728,779

Total Product Cost ( C ) Manufacturing Cost+ General Expenses 966,573,441

Gross Income
Assumptions $/yr
1 Selling Price of Vinyl Chloride $0.25/lb, 4510 lb-mol/hr, 24 hr/day, 365 days/yr 982,302,700
Gross Income (G) Selling Price - Total Production Cost 15,729,259
Net Profit (P)
Assumption dollars ($)
1 Depreciation (D) Sinking-fund depreciation, Salvage value 5% of FCI 1,779,235
2 Net Profit (P) G-D-(G-D)*tax 9,207,016
Annual Cash Flow Cash flow for the first year 10,986,251

73
 Table H4: Cash flow of 2007

Summary of Annual Costs along with the Total Product Cost (2007)

Fix Capital Investment ($) $61,928,539

Total Capital Investment ($) $77,154,892
Manufacturing Cost Assumption $/yr
Direct Product Cost Assumption $/yr
1 Raw Materials Ethylene, Chlorine, Oxygen, Hydrochloride 1,254,711,587
2 Operating Labor 5,137,000
3 Utilitites
Hot Utility $3/MMBTU heating, 285 MMBTU/hr 6,289,805
Cold Utility $0.5/MMBTU/cooling, 137.7 MMBTU/hr 1,211,891
4 Maintenance and Repair 2% of Fixed Capital Investment 1,238,571
5 Operating Supplies 9% of Cost for Maintenance and Repair 185,786
Sub Total 1,268,774,639
Fix Charges Assumption $/yr
1 Capital Cost or Depreciation 5% of Fix Capital Investment 3,446,522
2 Local Taxes 1% of Fix Capital Investment 619,285
3 Insurance 0.8% of Fix Capital Investment 495,428
Sub Total 4,561,235
Overhead Costs 50% of Operating Labor, Supervision & 2,054,800
Maintenance
Manufacturing Cost Direct Product Cost+Fix Charges+Overhead Cost 1,275,390,675

General Expenses Assumption $/yr

1 Administration Costs 15% of the operating labor 770,550
2 Distribution and Selling Costs 0.1% Direct production cost 1,268,775
Sub Total 2,039,325

Total Product Cost ( C ) Manufacturing Cost+ General Expenses 1,277,429,999

Gross Income
Assumptions $/yr
1 Selling Price of Vinyl Chloride $0.25/lb, 4510 lb-mol/hr, 24 hr/day, 365 days/yr 1,292,983,501
Gross Income (G) Selling Price - Total Production Cost 15,553,502
Net Profit (P)
Assumption dollars ($)
1 Depreciation (D) Sinking-fund depreciation, Salvage value 5% of FCI 1,779,235
2 Net Profit (P) G-D-(G-D)*tax 9,091,016
3 Annual Cash Flow Cash flow for the first year 10,870,251

74
 Table H5: Cash flow of 2008

Summary of Annual Costs along with the Total Product Cost (2008)
Working Capital $12,385,708
Fix Capital Investment ($) $61,928,539
Total Capital Investment ($) $77,154,892
Manufacturing Cost Assumption $/yr
Direct Product Cost Assumption $/yr
1 Raw Materials Ethylene, Chlorine, Oxygen 1,552,281,040
2 Operating Labor 5,137,000
3 Utilitites
Hot Utility $3/MMBTU heating, 930 MMBTU/hr 19,154,400
Cold Utility $0.5/MMBTU/cooling, 448 MMBTU/hr 1,492,378
4 Maintenance and Repair 2% of Fixed Capital Investment 1,238,571
5 Operating Supplies 15% of Cost for Maintenance and Repair 185,786
Sub Total 1,579,489,174
Fix Charges Assumption $/yr
1 Capital Cost or Depreciation 5% of Fix Capital Investment 3,446,522
2 Local Taxes 1% of Fix Capital Investment 619,285
3 Insurance 0.8% of Fix Capital Investment 495,428
Sub Total 4,561,235
Overhead Costs 40% of Operating Labor, Supervision & 2,054,800
Maintenance
Manufacturing Cost Direct Product Cost+Fix Charges+Overhead Cost 1,586,105,209

General Expenses Assumption $/yr

1 Administration Costs 15% of the operating labor 770,550
2 Distribution and Selling Costs 0.1% Direct production cost 1,579,489
Sub Total 2,350,039

Total Product Cost ( C ) Manufacturing Cost+ General Expenses 1,588,455,248

Gross Income
Assumptions $/yr
1 Selling Price of Vinyl Chloride $0.25/lb, 4510 lb-mol/hr, 24 hr/day, 365 days/yr 1,631,006,997
Gross Income (G) Selling Price - Total Production Cost 42,551,749
Net Profit (P)
Assumption dollars ($)
1 Depreciation (D) Sinking-fund depreciation, Salvage value 5% of FCI 1,779,235
2 Net Profit (P) G-D-(G-D)*tax 26,909,859
3 Annual Cash Flow Cash flow for the first year 28,689,094

75
 Table H6: Cash flow of 2009

Summary of Annual Costs along with the Total Product Cost (2009)

Fix Capital Investment ($) $61,928,539

Total Capital Investment ($) $77,154,892
Manufacturing Cost Assumption $/yr
Direct Product Cost Assumption $/yr
1 Raw Materials Ethylene, Chlorine, Oxygen, Hydrochloride 1,873,650,466
2 Operating Labor 5,137,000
3 Utilitites
Hot Utility $3/MMBTU heating, 285 MMBTU/hr 9,284,721
Cold Utility $0.5/MMBTU/cooling, 137.7 MMBTU/hr 1,788,988
4 Maintenance and Repair 2% of Fixed Capital Investment 1,238,571
5 Operating Supplies 9% of Cost for Maintenance and Repair 185,786
Sub Total 1,891,285,531
Fix Charges Assumption $/yr
1 Capital Cost or Depreciation 5% of Fix Capital Investment 3,446,522
2 Local Taxes 1% of Fix Capital Investment 619,285
3 Insurance 0.8% of Fix Capital Investment 495,428
Sub Total 4,561,235
Overhead Costs 50% of Operating Labor, Supervision & 2,054,800
Maintenance
Manufacturing Cost Direct Product Cost+Fix Charges+Overhead Cost 1,897,901,566

General Expenses Assumption $/yr

1 Administration Costs 15% of the operating labor 770,550
2 Distribution and Selling Costs 0.1% Direct production cost 1,891,286
Sub Total 2,661,836

Total Product Cost ( C ) Manufacturing Cost+ General Expenses 1,900,563,402

Gross Income
Assumptions $/yr
1 Selling Price of Vinyl Chloride $0.25/lb, 4510 lb-mol/hr, 24 hr/day, 365 days/yr 1,972,390,142
Gross Income (G) Selling Price - Total Production Cost 71,826,740
Net Profit (P)
Assumption dollars ($)
1 Depreciation (D) Sinking-fund depreciation, Salvage value 5% of FCI 1,779,235
2 Net Profit (P) G-D-(G-D)*tax 46,231,353
3 Annual Cash Flow Cash flow for the first year 48,010,589

76
 Table H7: Cash flow of 2010

Summary of Annual Costs along with the Total Product Cost (2010)

Fix Capital Investment ($) $61,928,539

Total Capital Investment ($) $77,154,892
Manufacturing Cost Assumption $/yr
Direct Product Cost Assumption $/yr
1 Raw Materials Ethylene, Chlorine, Oxygen, Hydrochloride 2,236,955,317
2 Operating Labor 5,137,000
3 Utilitites
Hot Utility $3/MMBTU heating, 285 MMBTU/hr 10,920,007
Cold Utility $0.5/MMBTU/cooling, 137.7 MMBTU/hr 2,104,152
4 Maintenance and Repair 2% of Fixed Capital Investment 1,238,571
5 Operating Supplies 9% of Cost for Maintenance and Repair 185,786
Sub Total 2,256,540,832
Fix Charges Assumption $/yr
1 Capital Cost or Depreciation 5% of Fix Capital Investment 3,446,522
2 Local Taxes 1% of Fix Capital Investment 619,285
3 Insurance 0.8% of Fix Capital Investment 495,428
Sub Total 4,561,235
Overhead Costs 50% of Operating Labor, Supervision & 2,054,800
Maintenance
Manufacturing Cost Direct Product Cost+Fix Charges+Overhead Cost 2,263,156,868

General Expenses Assumption $/yr

1 Administration Costs 15% of the operating labor 770,550
2 Distribution and Selling Costs 0.1% Direct production cost 2,256,541
Sub Total 3,027,091

Total Product Cost ( C ) Manufacturing Cost+ General Expenses 2,266,183,959

Gross Income
Assumptions $/yr
1 Selling Price of Vinyl Chloride $0.25/lb, 4510 lb-mol/hr, 24 hr/day, 365 days/yr 2,302,965,909
Gross Income (G) Selling Price - Total Production Cost 36,781,951
Net Profit (P)
Assumption dollars ($)
1 Depreciation (D) Sinking-fund depreciation, Salvage value 5% of FCI 1,779,235
2 Net Profit (P) G-D-(G-D)*tax 23,101,792
3 Annual Cash Flow Cash flow for the first year 24,881,027

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 Table H8: Cash flow of 2011 (full capacity)

Summary of Annual Costs along with the Total Product Cost (2011)
Working Capital $12,385,708
Fix Capital Investment ($) $61,928,539
Total Capital Investment ($) $77,154,892
Manufacturing Cost Assumption $/yr
Direct Product Cost Assumption $/yr
1 Raw Materials Ethylene, Chlorine, Oxygen 2,607,877,975
2 Operating Labor 5,137,000
3 Utilitites
Hot Utility $3/MMBTU heating, 930 MMBTU/hr 31,569,366
Cold Utility $0.5/MMBTU/cooling, 448 MMBTU/hr 2,433,208
4 Maintenance and Repair 2% of Fixed Capital Investment 1,238,571
5 Operating Supplies 15% of Cost for Maintenance and Repair 185,786
Sub Total 2,648,441,906
Fix Charges Assumption $/yr
1 Capital Cost or Depreciation 5% of Fix Capital Investment 3,446,522
2 Local Taxes 1% of Fix Capital Investment 619,285
3 Insurance 0.8% of Fix Capital Investment 495,428
Sub Total 4,561,235
Overhead Costs 40% of Operating Labor, Supervision & 2,054,800
Maintenance
Manufacturing Cost Direct Product Cost+Fix Charges+Overhead Cost 2,655,057,941

General Expenses Assumption $/yr

1 Administration Costs 15% of the operating labor 770,550
2 Distribution and Selling Costs 0.1% Direct production cost 2,648,442
Sub Total 3,418,992

Total Product Cost ( C ) Manufacturing Cost+ General Expenses 2,658,476,933

Gross Income
Assumptions $/yr
1 Selling Price of Vinyl Chloride $0.25/lb, 4510 lb-mol/hr, 24 hr/day, 365 days/yr 2,681,872,397
Gross Income (G) Selling Price - Total Production Cost 23,395,464
Net Profit (P)
Assumption dollars ($)
1 Depreciation (D) Sinking-fund depreciation, Salvage value 5% of FCI 1,779,235
2 Net Profit (P) G-D-(G-D)*tax 14,266,711
3 Annual Cash Flow Cash flow for the first year 16,045,946
4 Net Present Worth (NPW) Function of cash flow, TCI, working capital 161,759,443
5 Paid Out Time (POT) FCI-Salvage value/Average Cash Flow 3.07
6 Rate of Return (ROI) Cash flow method 0.180
7 Rate of Return (ROI) Profit/total capital investment 0.18

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 Table H9: NPW
n Year Cash Flow NPW ($) CFk/(1+r)k
1 2004 4.244E+06 4.042E+06 1.62E+08 3596916.39
2 2005 5.501E+06 4.989E+06 3951391.729
3 2006 1.099E+07 9.490E+06 6688551.844
4 2007 1.087E+07 8.943E+06 5608968.686
5 2008 2.869E+07 2.248E+07 12546458.03
6 2009 4.801E+07 3.583E+07 17795172.11
7 2010 2.488E+07 1.768E+07 7816176.066
8 2011 1.605E+07 1.086E+07 4272206.228
9 2012 1.653E+07 1.065E+07 3729497.273
10 2013 1.702E+07 1.045E+07 3255729.983
11 2014 1.753E+07 1.025E+07 2842146.527
12 2015 1.806E+07 1.006E+07 2481101.604
13 2016 1.860E+07 9.865E+06 2165921.113
14 2017 1.916E+07 9.677E+06 1890778.781
15 2018 1.973E+07 9.493E+06 1650588.462
16 2019 2.033E+07 9.312E+06 1440910.116
17 2020 2.094E+07 9.134E+06 1257867.729
18 2021 2.156E+07 8.960E+06 1098077.671
19 2022 2.221E+07 8.790E+06 958586.1409
20 2023 2.288E+07 8.622E+06 836814.5656

Table H10: ROI

Inflaction 0.03 TCI 86789944
Interest rate 0.05
ROI 0.1798835

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 APPENDIX I
EI Data for different Design Options
Oxygen Used Furnace Temperature = 500oC
Incinerator Furnace Hot Utility O2 Cost ($/hr) Profit E.I.
- - - 0 27.5 186300
X - - 458 23.5 186000
- X - 1833 11.4 183000
X X - 2290 7.4 180500
- - X 2725 3.6 178000
X - X 3183 -0.4 175000
- X X 4558 -12.5 172300
X X X 5016 -16.5 170000

Oxygen Used Furnace Temperature = 426oC

Incinerator Furnace Hot Utility O2 Cost ($/hr) Profit E.I.
- - - 0 27.5 188023
X - - 657 18.2 187635
- X - 2032 6.2 186922
X X - 2688 2.2 185744
- - X 2924 -1.6 183244
X - X 3581 -5.6 180744
- X X 4956 -17.7 173744
X X X 5613 -21.7 171744

Oxygen Used Furnace Temperature = 575oC

Incinerator Furnace Hot Utility O2 Cost ($/hr) Profit E.I.
- - - 0 27.5 187151
X - - 562 20.8 186817
- X - 1937 8.8 185960
X X - 2498 4.8 184872
- - X 2829 1.0 182373
X - X 3391 -3.0 179850
- X X 4766 -15.1 172872
X X X 5328 -19.1 170872

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 APPENDIX J
Sequestering of Carbon Dioxide

Calculation of Capital Investment of brine aquifer injection:

$27.75  $27.75 
CapitalInvestment = xQCO 2 = (410,810kg / hr ) x  = $11.4million
kg / hr  kg / hr 

Where QCO2 is the mass flow rate of the CO2 from the system.

Calculation of operating cost of brine aquifer injection:

OperatingCost =
$0.0000912
ZQCO 2 =
$0.0000912
(3100 feet ) 410,810 kg  = $116,000
 kg   kg   hr 
 (mile )  ( feet )
 hr   hr 

Functions are taken from Group 8, sequestering of CO2.

81